Ruby, White & Tawny Port Finish | 59.7% ABV

A dram suited for nightwatch in the crow’s nest

It is seemingly pasted on every review site, including Dramface, that complains about Diageo’s Special Release pricing or at least there is always a caveat to said opinion. Objectively, the pricing is ludicrous and out of line with their other core range releases in their portfolio. But you know what? We don’t have to buy any of them!

Nobody is pressuring us into buying any of the yearly special releases so why are we making such a fuss about it?

Are we dreaming of years past, where these whiskies made sense within the landscape of available options? Are we being overly and naively hopeful that a publicly traded company with hungry shareholders wouldn’t try to maximise their profits? You know what? Let the suits pick the prices and let them deal with the dust collecting on the bottles. Not our problem.

For me, I was never caught up in the Special Release buzz. It’s either a combination of only a few of the releases historically made it to my market, or I never noticed them because I wasn’t there yet in my journey.

So for me, it’s more of an objective view on the releases compared to those who may be fondly remembering times past. That lack of emotive response means I’m not jumping up and down in anger with Diageo. And with the plethora of whiskies available, from independents and new distilleries alike, we don’t need to chase whiskies at stratospheric price points in our current market.

I believe many of us have been collecting whiskies at an alarming rate and have stashed away more than we can drink in the next handful of years. Pump the brakes, toss out the anchor, focus on whiskies that speak to you and refine your searches. Pay less attention to the whisky-verse on social media with the endless stream of colourful and expensive bottles pervading that place of instant gratification and FOMO. Create and curate your own Faraday-caged micro bubble where you view your whiskies with rose tinted glasses of the times spent with them, whether it's with friends new and old, spending time with your partner, or taking some personal time and relaxing, reading a book, or writing an article for Dramface.

It’s also no secret that I fancy port influenced whiskies, much like our Dougie Crystal with his recent Glencadam stunner that I’m jealous I don’t have access to.

Talisker 10 yo is $122 (£72) where I am, a ludicrous price point given its provenance and competition. It’s for this reason that I haven’t had a Talisker on my shelf for over two years. So when this port-finished special release went on a decent sale/discount, it was time to pull the trigger again.

Review

Talisker, 2023 Special Releases, Finished in Ruby, Tawny & White Port, 59.7% ABV
CAD$150 (£88) paid. Typically £120, still available.

Nose

Sweet and rounded. Nothing poking out to indicate the strength of this NAS beast. Raspberry jam. Jam thumbprint cookies. Vanilla ice cream with berry and rhubarb compote.

If you’re familiar with the 10 yo, amp up the sweetness significantly and correspondingly reduce the peatiness. This is very much in the sweet vein.

Palate

Very interesting. There’s no hiding the trademark Talisker pepperiness however it is more restrained than I would have thought given my presupposition of the age. Again, the Talisker peat level is lower than expected, barely imperceptible under the pepper bite. Time to remove all my preconceptions and take another swipe.

Very warming to the throat and in the belly. As a Canadian, writing this during a cold snap of -39 Celsius ambient (-51 Celsius with wind!) and after shovelling snow off the drive, it’s a welcome feeling. Perhaps that is the source of the sailing link drawn by Diageo here? It’s not high %ABV hot or hurting in the mouth, just a lovely warming fuzziness on the throat and belly. Perfecto!

There is a slight peppery bitterness but that isn’t a detractor, it helps balance out the sweetness from the port cask influence. The pepper is intertwined with a very very light peatiness, so light that I struggle to put descriptors towards describing the type of phenolics going on here other than there is a very deft influence here. Then we’ve got a lovely strong sweetness. Digging into it, I equate this to a strawberry and raspberry jam or cooked compote sweetened with sugar and dusted with cinnamon & ginger. It is difficult to sort this out distinctly at full strength. Wine gums round out the sweetness before the trailing off finish.

The mouthfeel is full and powerful, filling your mouth and pushing all other remnants aside. The finish is medium-short, with a fading jammy sweetness and pepperiness. The throat warming effect persists after the flavours have faded.

With water, dial down the intensity and peppery bite, while increasing the sweetness which has been more distinctly transformed into strawberry and raspberry jam. No more hunting around and sorting it out from the tightly mingled flavours at full strength. Gone is the belly warming effect as well. I am very much enjoying playing with the effect of water, and I love that the personality of this whisky shifts.

The Dregs

So should I talk about the price here? Given our scoring system, which intrinsically considers the value of the whisky at its price point, I must discuss it. So what gives?

I think this whisky falls well into my personal purchasing guidance: never buy at full price. Hold the FOMO off, wait for a discount or sale from your favourite retailer, and just wait. We don’t need more whisky, and if you feel you need a bottle on your shelf, just wait. It will go on sale. Good things come to those who wait and whisky is no exception.

I bought this on sale, below RRP. Given the other Talisker core range available, the sale price made sense and the score corresponds with my price paid. No reduction in scores this time around. It is making me consider that I might enjoy the port-finished core range Talisker Port Ruighe, which is finished in port casks as well… time to add that to the watchlist and only pull the trigger if it goes on a deep discount!

All I know is, I’m drinking this Special Release at an alarming rate. And that rates it highly for me.

Score: 7/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. BB

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