Talisker – 8 Year Old Special Release 2021 (70cl, 59.7%)

Talisker 8 Year Old is a 2021 Special Release from the Isle of Skye distillery, an island single malt bottled at 59.7% in a 70cl bottle. Eight years is the age at which Talisker was traditionally bottled, and the whisky is described as direct and bold. Its colour is pale golden straw with greenish lights. The nose opens sweet and maritime, with porridge oats giving way to briny seaweed, crystal salt and iodine over mountain smoke. The palate is soft and oily, salty and lightly sweet, peaty and smoky, with a peppery catch late on. The finish is long, warming and smoky.