The new rum cask finished Talisker! The one we've all been waiting for!
I've said it before, and I'll gladly say it again: I absolutely loved the 2018 Talisker 8-year old. It's still my favourite Talisker to date, and one of my favourite bottlings from the Diageo Special Releases to date. So when I heard about the 2020 Talisker 8-year old, I was very excited to get amongst it. And after the wait of nearly a full year after this whisky was released in Britain and Europe, it's finally here! There's a slight price increase, with the new addition sitting at around $160 AUD on the retail shelves, compared to $130 for the previous iteration. But that's fine, it's been two years (actually more) and there was an older 15-year old released in between the two at a higher price, so that's certainly not a deal-breaker. It's also slightly lower in strength at 57.9% compared to 59.4% ABV in the 2018. But that's really not all, folks. This is the first Talisker official bottling to ever spend time in rum casks! Carribean pot still rum casks to be exact, and while I assume the finishing period was relatively short, it's certainly had a marked effect on the finished whisky - pun intended. If I'm not mistaken this is also the first time that any of Diageo's single malts have been finished in rum casks, so this is quite the leap forward! Despite being one of the world's largest spirits corporations, don't let anyone tell you that Diageo is not willing to try something new. This is a very professional and very savvy company, and despite what the bitterer whisky geeks will tell you they really do know what they're doing when it comes to whisky.
Rum cask finishes, when done well, can make for excellent drams, adding tropical fruit, dirty rum "funk" and brown sugar sweetness, but they do also seem to be quite hit & miss. While it's a growing trend, only a handful of distilleries have so far dabbled in this territory. Limited releases that I've tried such as Kilchoman's Australian Exclusive Single Cask, the Ardbeg Drum Committee Release, Springbank 21-year old 2018 and a Springbank single refill rum cask have been excellent, while others like Springbank 15-year old Rum Wood didn't quite meet my expectations, and the standard version of Ardbeg Drum (at 46%) didn't come close to my expectations. As you can see from that list, it does seem to mostly be peated whiskies that are filled into rum casks, perhaps because producers are worried that unpeated whiskies would become too sweet if put through the same treatment. Even the larger Scotch whisky industry's wild card entry, Bruichladdich, have only dipped their toe in the water when it comes to rum casks, although it's entirely possible that more are in the works for the future. I'm only guessing here, but from what I have observed one of the issues could be provenance - rum casks are very rarely traceable that like of the bourbon, sherry and wine industries - and by that I mean the quality of the rum that the casks have held, and the length of time that they held rum, and where that rum came from, and if those casks had previously held something else before they were filled with rum (usually bourbon). Not to mention if there was sugar added to the spirit, which is a very common thing in rum production, and what the base ingredient was i.e. molasses, sugar cane or demerara. Diageo does own Don Zapaca rum, which is produced in Guatemala, plus a Venezuelan rum called Pampero and also the lower-end rum brand Captain Morgan. But the rumour mill - the same rumour mill that was wrong about virgin oak being used in the 2019 15-year old, mind you - says that these rum casks were sourced from Jamaica. So who knows!
It's great to see the Isle of Skye's Talisker Distillery getting some time in the spotlight from the owners. The last three batches of Diageo's annual Special Releases have featured a cask strength Talisker, from the 2018 8-year old that was matured in deep-charred first-fill ex-bourbon barrels, to the 2019 15-year old that was matured in re-charred refill American oak hogshead casks (not virgin oak as many blogs and media releases incorrectly stated), and now the ground-breaking latest release with it's tropical twist. Since the cask strength 25-year old that was last released way back in 2009, prior to these three Special Releases there hasn't been a cask strength Talisker official bottling that was reasonably obtainable. The 57 North expression, which wasn't exactly cask strength but was close enough at 57% ABV, was discontinued a couple of years ago, and even the most recent distillery exclusive bottling was bottled at 48% ABV - only a slight boost over the distillery's standard strength of 45.8%. It's not easy to find a cask strength independent bottling of Talisker either, since there are very few independent bottlings in general from this distillery. So the debuts of these three special release bottlings over the last three years has been very exciting, and let's hope they keep it up! Right, enough talk. The 2020 Talisker 8 Year Old Cask Strength, bottled at 57.9%, non-chill filtered and natural colour, and finished in Carribean pot still rum casks. Oh and I have to add, the packaging on these last two batches of Special Releases really has grown on me. Very pretty, and it's great to see clear glass bottles in use for most of the bottlings. This young Talisker has some big shoes to fill after the 2018 8-year old, but it's also going to be a distinctly different experience, so I'll try to put that out of my mind!
Finished in Carribean pot still rum casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Very pale gold.
Nose: Sweet & sour and lighter than expected to start with, herbal and peppery. Opens up quickly with fresh green chilli, grassy dried herbs and a whiff of fresh petrol (which is a good sign!). Warm sea salt, a little printer ink and green peppercorns, then tropical fruit that quickly moves from green & sour to just under-ripe and sweeter - think green banana and under-ripe pineapple. Touch of toasted coconut around the edges as well? That would certainly be Carribean!
Texture: Medium weight, very oily, rich & peppery. Slight heat but it's very integrated and works well.
Taste: Clean engine oils and more fresh petrol (not that I've tasted petrol lately...), followed by charred green chillies, green & black peppercorns and warm baked sea salt. Touch of seaweed, a little pineapple & crystallised brown sugar. Fresh oily paint and a little burnt bacon.
Finish: Medium-long length. Charred bacon, baked sea salt and fresh green chillies carrying through, followed by the banana, pineapple & petrol. Then the peppercorns return to dry things out, with a touch of lemon juice. Mouth-watering!
Score: 4 out of 5.
Notes: Delicious. This is the only Special Release from the 2020 batch that I've tried so far, but even so I think it's safe to say that this Talisker could be the star of the show. Particularly when you factor in value for money. As expected it's very different to the 2018 8-year old, although the rum cask influence is relatively subtle - which is a good thing! In fact this is quite a balanced whisky overall, still showing plenty of distillery character with just a touch of extra sweetness, tropical fruit & rum "funk". They could've gone heavier on the rum influence here, like other distilleries have done before, but I'm glad they didn't. Maybe Talisker's spirit profile helped there, but then Ardbeg & Springbank's spirits aren't exactly wallflowers either. Undiluted, uncoloured and non-chill filtered Talisker is a glorious thing!
Talisker may no longer be the only distillery on the Isle of Skye, thanks to Torabhaig releasing their first single malt earlier this year, but they will always be the original, and any future newcomers are going to instantly face comparisons to drams like this. The 2020 8-year old certainly deserves its spot in the Special Releases, which comes as no surprise, but let's hope the success of this whisky helps keep the cask strength Taliskers coming in future batches. I look forward to seeing what they come up with next!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your thoughts & opinion on my opinion!