Last year Diageo released a 15 Year Talisker at Cask Strength as part of their 2019 special releases. Aside from new bottle design and an age statement, there’s little more to go on than an absolutely massive 42,222 bottle outturn.
Talisker 15 Diageo 2019 Special Release / 57.3% ABV
Tasted neat and with a bit of bottled water
- Color: burnished (1.1)
- Nose: huge sea salt, iodine, and peat smoke; tar and butyric acid
- Taste: caramel, angel food cake, burnt sugar, and maple-sugar cookies
- Finish: earthy peat comes out in the finish, long vanillins
As with all the Diageo special releases, this is priced higher than we would like, but it delivers a solid, age-statement, cask-strength Talisker. Compared to the 10 or 18, there’s much flavour and feeling of richness, so it justifies the 20–30GBP premium in my opinion.
Fans of Talisker should not miss out!
Rating: 89/100
