Thanks to the graciousness of my friends at Diageo, I’m reviewing the second-oldest Scotch in Talisker’s catalog: the Talisker 45-Year Glacial Edge — the final release in their Xpedition Series, a partnership with global environmental organization Parley For the Oceans.
Talisker was Skye’s first legal whisky distillery, built in 1830. The Talisker 45 gets its name not from a typical cask finish, but from something genuinely extraordinary: twelve heavily-charred American Oak casks were taken on a glacial voyage into the Canadian ice fields. A cooper removed the heads and end barrel hoops, exposing the staves to extreme cold, causing them to fracture — exposing more wood surface and allowing greater liquid-to-wood contact.
Dr. Alison Criscitiello, a pioneering Glaciologist, led the expedition through ice fields and into ice caves, using the barrels as a metaphor for our planet’s interconnected ecosystem.
ABV: 49.8% | MSRP: $5,123 USD (700ml) | Bottles in US: 272 of 2,455 total
Tasting Notes
Color: Beautiful toasted amber with a slight gold twinge
Nose: Rich smoke like freshly charred beef or campfire — apricot, treacle, butterscotch, honey, and Crêpes Suzette
Palate: Incredibly warm — the distillery character shines through with a delicate pepperiness lining the edges of the palate, focusing the subtle smoke on the mid-palate. Lots of red fruit. For a 45-year-old Scotch, this does not taste like chewing on a barrel stave.
Final Thoughts
This is the second oldest Scotch I’ve ever tried. I don’t know if anything will ever come close to how delicious this was.
Originally published on Wine & Whiskey Globe. Sample received from Diageo.