‘Tactical’ (Talisker) 20 yo 1980 / 2000 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask MC 359 bottles 50% vs Hebrides (Talisker) 30 yo 1970 Kingsbury 53.2%
‘Tactical’ (Talisker) 20 yo 1980 / 2000 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask MC 359 bottles 50%
The sea with all it’s briny salty sharpness is evident here. And warm lemon to match. We are downwind of ripe seaweed, washed up in the sun, on a beach with traces of an oil slick on dirty rocks. Aniseed and thyme pastilles, broken seashells and cigarette stubs. Not a lush whisky painted in broad strokes, but not exactly a cutting and austere style either. What it is is a very drinkable nip of seawater. 88 pts
Hebrides (Talisker) 30 yo 1970 Kingsbury 53.2%
We step into an entirely different scale of subtle depth. Blink and you might miss it. Vaporous medicinal ointments, dried seawater, oiled planks, sea worn wooden oars, coal lumps and mineral oil. A lot going on here. Black tea brewed with bay leaves and clods of sea mud apparently.An ethereal haze of burnt angelica, juniper, camphor and sandalwood. Absolutely glinting with facets that are honestly not easy to catch, but unquestionably excellent. Soot stained cold grills, tobacco leaf, it keeps giving. Demands quiet contemplation. 92 pts
Whiskyrific RSS
- Millburn 36 yo 1969 / 2005 Douglas Laing #DL2152 50% vs Glenburgie 40 yo 1963 / 2003 Signatory #4751 56.4%
- Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland for the Nectar #536 51.3% vs A Speyside Distillery 32 yo 1989 / 2022 Thompson Bros 51.4%
- Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 61.1% vs Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 58.7%
- Talimburg 19 yo 1986 / 2005 The Whisky Fair #1485 45.9% vs Talisker 20 yo 1981 / 2002 62%
- Caol Ila 12 yo Bulloch Lade for Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 30 yo 1979 / 2010 Berry Bros #4604/5 55.6%
- Clynelish 29 yo 1965 Whyte & Whyte 52.1%
- Brora 21 yo 1982 / 2003 Signatory #416 58.4% vs Clynelish 27 yo 1982 / 2009 Synch Eli Daily Dram 46%
- Dornoch 5 yo 2017 / 2023 #46 ‘Jasper Broers’ 57.9% vs Shizuoka ‘private cask’ 2017 / 2022 #2017-108 61%
- Clynelish 26 yo 1993 / 2020 Carn Mor #11215 52.7% vs Bowmore 17 yo 2004 /2021 SMWS 3.327 ‘Siren’s Song’ 57.1%
- Talisker 25 yo ‘Bottle TA25 3987’ 45.8% ~ bottle code L0296CM004 bottled 2020 vs Ledaig 11 yo 2008 / 2019 The Swan Song & 1BRD #700104 58.7%
whiskyrific 