The Interminable Isle of Skye

I've been so excited as of late about the arrival of our oddball Talisker 5 year cask that it got me thinking: "When's the last time I tried the standard Talisker 10 year?" I wasn't sure exactly, but it had been at least a year or two. With the precocious character of the young Hepburn's Choice selection exploding all over my tongue at yesterday's staff tasting, I wanted to see how that flavor ultimately integrated itself into the basic Isle of Skye expression. Could I follow the evolution of that whisky? I wanted to know.

I popped a bottle of the ten year old earlier today to conduct my experiment and I got completely distracted by the quality of the whisky. Jesus! It was so much smokier than I remember it being and the aromas were just heavenly, meandering between salted caramel and sticky butterscotch. I took a sip. Wow. Maybe it's simply because so many other big brands are losing their age statements and often times bottling inferior whiskies in place of previous standards, but to me the Talisker 10 year tastes better than ever! It really is a perfect whisky—a beautiful balance of sweet malty oiliness with just the right amount of peat. It's so much better than a number of other $60 and $70 whiskies we carry, but the price hasn't budged above $49.99 in years. You can set your watch to this single malt.

I wonder how many other fantastic single malt whiskies I'm forgetting about? I need to go back and retaste a whole bunch things. Do a little review to get my perspective straight.

-David Driscoll