Talisker 18, 1990-2009, The Old Malt Cask, Director's Tactical Selection, Refill Hogshead DL Ref. 5128, 152 bottles, 50% abv.

Nose: initially frozen green grapes, but that was overtaken by major bananas, slightly vegetative. Interesting.

Palate: light bodied, initially the juice is cool, mid palate has some lightly smoked wood, hints of mango juice? There is a sense of tropical fruitiness on the tongue and roof of my mouth, back palate maintains that tropically sweet yet wood smoke flavored profile.

Finish: short to medium, slightly smoked wood and then transistions to a fruity sweetness, some sort of worchester and tomato sauce mix in there as well.

This one is funny because supposedly Talisker didn't want OMC to have their name, or it was custom to not put the distillers name on an IB bottle, so the name changed to "tactical", which isn't too much of a giveaway, but come on. The nose is basically bananas, and tastes like a lightly smoked yellow melon or American pumpkin. The tasting experience is interesting and covers an area I feel not many modern firms do, or do well, that tropical flavored profile. The addition of light smoke and hints of wood help to compare too.

Grade: B-

Couldn't find quantifiable, reliable reviews.

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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