After two years, Diageo has again released a Talisker 8 year old in the Special Releases. I loved the previous one from 2018 and so I was very curious about its successor.

However, there is a difference with the 2018 edition, this new bottling has had a finish in ex-pot still Caribbean rum casks. And that is new for the distillery! Because never before had a Talisker been released that had a rum cask finish. Now I can appreciate a good rum cask finish lately so this could be an interesting one, right?

This Talisker is finished in Caribbean rum casks and is bottled at 57.9% ABV.

Talisker 8 year old tasting notes:

Nose: smoke and pineapple. Lime and green apple peels. and somewhat malty. A hint of olives. A sugary note. Seaweed and it’s somewhat salty.

Taste: it’s young and clean. A hint of pineapple, but way more to the background now. Olives again. Subtle peat and again a bit salty. Vanilla. Lemons. And later some white pepper.

Finish: Short to mid-long with mostly white pepper and smoke.

It’s nice, but I expected it to be a little better, to be honest. Maybe I set my expectations too high after the 2018 release, I don’t know. It certainly has the Talisker character, but you won’t find much of the rum cask finish.

Many thanks to Shiv for the more than generous sample!