Does Talisker ever plan to cease releasing successively older whiskies? Right here’s to hoping the reply isn’t any, as a result of the stuff popping out of the Isle of Skye continues to blow us away each time a pattern arrives.
Talisker Glacial Edge 45 Years Outdated is the ultimate launch within the Xpedition Collection (we didn’t understand it even had a reputation), “a trilogy of whiskies impressed by the wild and its spirit of journey. The whisky is completed in “ice-fractured oak casks,” an experimental kind of barrel that I don’t suppose has been tried ever earlier than.
What’s an ice-fractured oak cask?
Twelve of the Talisker distillery heavily-charred American Oak casks used to age this whisky have been taken on a glacial voyage into the gorgeous frozen lands of Canada’s ice fields. A specialised Cooper eliminated the ends of the casks, exposing them to sub-zero temperatures and biting Arctic winds for 96 hours. This allowed the acute chilly to fracture the wooden, which in flip elevated the floor space of the casks, altering the liquid’s interactions with the casks in the course of the ending interval in Scotland.
The expedition to fracture the casks drew upon the majestic drive of the glacier to create a whisky really marked by the wild. This journey to the ice fields was taken hand-in-hand with Talisker’s accomplice, Parley For the Oceans, and led by pioneering glacier scientist Dr. Alison Criscitiello. The group traversed throughout wild terrain and into ice caves, the place Dr. Criscitiello helped the group perceive how the planet’s ecosystems are interconnected, from the glacial fields of Canada to the ocean surrounding the Talisker distillery’s house on the Isle of Skye off Northwest Scotland. That is the third yr of Talisker’s collaboration with Parley to help their group’s safety and preservation of marine ecosystems globally, with a portion of the funds from Talisker Glacial Edge 45-Yr-Outdated gross sales donated to help this trigger.
2,455 bottles have been produced, with 272 out there within the U.S.
Let’s bundle up and dive in.
The nostril right here is gentle and full of life, in no way the smoky, briny monster that Talisker can usually be however somewhat laden with notes of lemon curd, fresh-cut hay, some sesame, and a lightweight word of sandalwood. There’s sea spray and smoke right here, but it surely’s delicate and well-integrated with the rest of the expertise, which takes a flip towards its nuttier parts with time in glass.
The palate’s a delight, light however wealthy with taste, packed full with notes of sesame, peanut brittle, and a lightweight crunch of toasted caramel. White pepper notes construct on the palate alongside a persistent salinity — gentle as a feather however a continuing reminder that the ocean shore is close by. A light-weight squeeze of mandarin orange on the conclusion aids a lingering end that sees notes of iodine clinging to the tongue. Beautiful stuff, which is, after all, simply what I anticipated.
99.6 proof.
A / $5123 (700ml) / malts.com
Talisker Glacial Edge 45 Years Outdated
$5123
