Whisky: Talisker 30 Year "Made by the Sea"

Country/Region: Scotland/Islands

ABV: 45.8%

Cask: Oak

Age: 30 Years

Nose: Musty and herbal, maritime, tobacco, industrial, polished wood, vegetal decay, tar, ginger.

Palate: Medium-bodied, maritime, malty, wood, kerosene and tar, tobacco, herbal and medicinal.

Finish: Medium to long and slightly drying with a kiss of salt, malty biscuit, and citrus rinds.

Score: 7-8

Mental Image: Professor Digitalus’ Museum of the Weird and Bizarre

Narrative & Notes: I closed my eyes, and with the first whiff, a wide grin spread across my face— musty and herbal, the aroma spoke to tobacco pipes and old wooden wharves. Maritime and mildly industrial, the salty mineral brine of the sea washed in with petrol, tar, amber, and hints of polished wooden trunks. Musty vegetal decay lingered in the background with traces of ginger root, tallow, and a museum collection of ivory artifacts. Medium-bodied and balanced, the flavor profile hovered between maritime salt and malty biscuits with an initial burst of funk herbs and tobacco. Brine and polished wood brought to mind a boardwalk at night during a storm; subtle lamp oil and kerosene cast long shadows with hints of herbal tobacco and sandalwood. Inside and away from the rain, the salt continued to linger but now with malty molasses biscuits, menthol, camphor, and hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa. The finish was medium to long and slightly drying with a kiss of salt, malty biscuit, and citrus rinds.

I cannot think of another whisky I have tried where the herbal funk, somewhere between tobacco and musty medicinal herbs, hit first and then faded away. Usually, those notes wait until the end and then carry on through the finish, and they can either feel like a lovely twist or an ambush. On this dram, those notes provided a funky introduction and a through line to slightly medicinal herbs and spices. The affair was well-structured, with a lovely transition from the maritime boardwalk to the seaside Captain’s pub— I could almost hear mutterings about tides, the price of spice, and Neptune’s crossing.

Overall, a wonderful malt that is usually outside of my price range. I know some good friends will disagree, but I enjoyed this a touch more than the Talisker 27-Year from the 2013 Special ReleaseS. That dram is regarded as legendary, or at least on the road to legendary, and I thought the flavors on this were just a bit clearer and more complex. Either way, hard to go wrong with mature Talisker!