From the last four refill American oak hogsheads from 1979 matured in Talisker’s warehouse 4, not the mainland, comes a coastal nose of sea grass, salt, sandy driftwood, and pink peppercorns, with an oily sweetness, lemon zest, and the dry smokiness of lapsang souchong tea and a distant garden bonfire. Sublime oiliness on the palate, with firm citrus, apricot, peppercorn, orange cake, vanilla, peach, and almond flavors. Quietly majestic. (556 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2021)

The youngest of the 2020 Special Releases. Warm tar, farmyard, charcuterie, and faint iodine on the fruity nose. Peppery stewed fruits and gentle woodsmoke on the voluptuous palate. Very prickly in the long finish, with fruit-and-nut dark chocolate and chile paste. An intriguing and attractive take on Talisker.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2020)

Surprisingly clean and youthful for a 30 year old, both on the nose and palate. Complex, too, with a sea breeze freshness, vanilla malt, polished oak spice, smoked seaweed, lightly tarred boat docks, toasted nuts, and lingering telicherry pepper. Mature, yet still quite powerful. Rivals the original Talisker 25 year old and the Talisker 18 year old as one of the finest Talisker whiskies ever released.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2007)

A sophisticated and refined Talisker, if that’s not an oxymoron. But this is certainly true when compared to the 10 year old. This 18 year old is deeper too, with less of the fishnets, more of oak boat docks. Less lemongrass, more fruit gum drops. There’s still that knock-out punch on the finish. There’s a fine line between polishing the rough edges of a beautifully powerful whisky and ripping its heart and soul out with a knife by dumbing it down. This whisky has not crossed that line. A fabulous whisky!

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Fall 2005)

Dry smokiness, salt, pepper, dried chile flakes, seashells, flaky chocolate, and the old oak of empty bourbon barrels baking in the sun. On the palate, sweet concoctions of lemon curd, oranges, and chalky rock candy are bridged by peppery smoke to an oilier phase of nougat, almond, and seasoned oak, ending with creamy chocolate notes. Talisker has released older bottlings, but these are the last of the casks from 1984. (968 bottles)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2022)

Honey, salted caramel, sea spray, beach bonfire, cream, and gentle black pepper on the nose, drifting into Highland toffee and banana chip. It’s much mellower and less spicy than younger Taliskers, with more honeyed, creamy sweetness on the palate of lemon, lime, apricot, and a gentle whirl of pepperiness. Then it glides into notes of Scottish tablet, vanilla, barley, lemon biscuit, and soft oak. (3,200 bottles; 498 for U.S.)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2022)

Talisker is a Special Releases favorite, and this bottling, the oldest ever marketed by the distillery, is actually the sixteenth. Distillation was in 1977, and maturation has taken place in both American and European oak refill casks. Soft wood smoke, sultana, nutmeg, and chili powder on the nose. Dried fruits, vanilla, and malt merge with more chili and savory notes, plus newly-dug soil on the complex palate. A touch of brine, orange peel, and bonfire in the finish. 3,090 bottles.

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2012)

Comes across initially to me as reserved, perhaps even elegant for a Talisker. Soothing too, with an oily texture. Quite fruity (orange, tangerine, apricot), perhaps even floral, with a delicate pastry sweetness. Then the more traditional Talisker notes kick in -- brine, seaweed, warming pepper -- repeated in the finish. A high-quality Talisker; albeit a bit reserved at times. I love the oily, viscous texture.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2010)

Talisker’s oldest whisky bottled to date, topping a 41 year old manzanilla cask finish released two years ago. Fragrant notes of sandalwood, lavender, and lemon spritz, sweetening to lemon meringue pie and warm peach tart. Vanilla, ginger, melon, and persimmon mark the palate, artfully accented by scents of old candle wax. The subtle Talisker peat has become even gentler with age, and the finish offers spice, old leather, and graceful oak. (1,830 bottles)

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Fall 2021)

Part of the Game of Thrones collection, this pop culture mash-up whisky represents House Greyjoy and features its kraken sigil on the label. The whisky sings of the sea, as blasts of ocean spray, sea salt, wet sand, and seashells swirl above undernotes of peach, cranberry, citrus fruits, and blackberry tart. The mouth fills with bonfire smoke, light peat, toffee, black cherry, and peppercorn. The addition of water coaxes out chocolate, light black pepper notes, and citrus. A flourish of allspice, bitter chocolate, more toffee, espresso, and almond on the finish. Number 13 in the 2019 Top 20

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2019)

Fresh fruits and white pepper on the nose, with brine and rock pools. Very little smokiness. The palate is also fruit forward—ripe red apples and pears—with barley sugar. The peat is now much more apparent, along with prickly spice. Mildly medicinal. Salt and black pepper in the long finish. Price is for entire Prima & Ultima Collection, of which this whisky is a part. (721 bottles) £20,000

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Fall 2020)

This 27 year old Talisker has been aged in refill American oak casks, and the nose offers brine, wood smoke, wet tarry rope, slightly medicinal, with the emergence of milk chocolate. Big-bodied, with lots of peat accompanied by chili and smoked bacon, with sweeter notes of malt, fudge, and apple. A hint of fabric Elastoplast. Long in the finish, with rock pools, bonfire ash, and sweet, tingling spice notes which carry to the very end. A powerful beast, even by Talisker standards. (3,000 bottles).

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2014)

This represents House Greyjoy and features its kraken. The nose offers damp tweed sprinkled with black pepper, plus smoky vanilla and ozone notes. Sweet smoke and citrus fruit on the palate, then more overt peatiness comes to the fore with soft toffee. Medium in length through the finish, with lingering toffee and light pepper. Great value! Editor's Choice

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2019)

The first 15 year old release from Talisker, this was matured in freshly charred American oak hogsheads. Marzipan, damp tweed, cooking chocolate, and white pepper on the nose, with light iodine and peat notes. Notably sweet on the palate, with fleshy oranges, peaches, cocoa powder, woodsmoke, and peppery peat. The finish is medium to long, with quite restrained Talisker pepperiness. £110

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2019)

Matured in amoroso casks. The amoroso softens Talisker’s fiery personality and adds a gentle sweetness not normally found in Talisker. There’s a lot going on here-notes of toffee and dark chocolate, layered with bitter orange, seaweed, kippers, smoked nuts, damp peat, and kalamata olives, finishing with a peppery glow. Not an every day dram-one has to be in the mood for a whisky like this. (With sausages during brunch, perhaps?)

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Summer 2006)

Another that should need no introduction. The thing to look for in Talisker, as with all smoky whiskies, is sweetness that gives the requisite balance to the drying effect of smoke. Underneath Talisker’s smoke, which ain't as all-pervading as Lagavulin, is a sweet pear-like quality. When young there are notes of the land: heather, moor, sweet seaweed, and a finish that has a distinctive cracked black pepper hit.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Summer 2012)

Initial maturation of this expression took place in refill casks, followed by heavily charred American oak hogsheads, and finally European oak puncheons. The nose is relatively light, fruit-forward, slightly floral, spicy, and mildly ashy. Citrus fruits and sweet peat smoke on the palate, with fruit and oak spices. Orchard fruits in the finish, with just a hint of classic Talisker pepper. (6,000 bottles; distillery only) (£95)

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Spring 2020)

For me, Talisker 30 year olds have paled in comparison to the same distillery’s 20 and 25 year olds. This, however, immediately shows promise. Gold in color, and while it’s another one that starts ever so slightly restrained, the giveaway peppery note soon reveals itself as smoked pimento and Szechuan pepper, mixed with extra virgin olive oil spread over hot smoked salmon. There’s also a touch of putty — something which you usually only see in youthful expressions — suggesting that here’s another refill maturation. As with many of these older whiskies, water isn’t the best option for the palate, but a drop does help release the sweet fruitiness that always lurks in Talisker’s heart, this time accompanied by an herbal note (mint and fennel). It’s almost as if it is looking back at itself as an 18 year old, but here the firm granitic grip of age takes hold. The palate starts slowly but opens well with a gentle, yet assertive revealing of the aromas on the nose. It seems to dip in energy just in the center before sparking back to life when the smoke emerges, like the last flash of defiance from an old-timer.

Reviewed by: Dave Broom (Spring 2011)