🥃 Whisky van Zuylen

Very balanced and drinkable - very good!

Talisker Session: 2022.09.07. https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/159353/talisker-08-year-old 85+ https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/45206/talisker-2002 86- https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/199187/talisker-25-year-old 87+ https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/197827/talisker-25-year-old 88+ https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/94143/talisker-30-year-old 92- https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/3034/talisker-25-year-old 93+

Coastal pear, iodine, candied orange, honey, bit more fruity than the 18yo, but in the same league, really enjoyable

Pretty good new release.

[January, 2022] Some of the older Talisker 25-years old were truly excellent, e.g. the 2007 edition (WB id 631). Unfortunately the quality degraded significantly over the last decade while its price more than doubled. But some people say, this year's edition should be much better so I bought a bottle for 220 Euro in a special offer... ...and to be honest: If this is a better quality than that of the last releases I do not want to taste any of these older vintages at all. This is average quality at best and (to me) not worth the heavy bucks requested but this is true for many drams during these crazy boom times, unfortunately. But there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel and surprisingly it is the head-light of an oncoming train: After the third dram my taste buds have adapted to this modern taste and now I can appreciate this bottling much more and I would raise this score to about 90 points. Looks good, but why should I drink two drams of this expensive stuff until I can enjoy it, finally? This makes no sense, not to me...

A very fine nose. He is conspicuously reserved. Very little peat, almost no smoke. The nose looks mature and elegant. Intense flavors on the palate, even though the alcohol content is quite mild. It impresses with fresh, fruity notes. It's not overwhelming, very pleasant.

Amber color. Light oily.

I like it very much. Much better than the 2017 Talisker. Well done! 86-90 – Wow, really good one, need a bottle

In contrast to the last 25y Talisker with 45.8%, which was OK, this one is again very tasty. After a temporary decline in quality at Talisker, in my opinion, the bottlings are fortunately feeling better again as a result of the design change.

A wonderful, complex and harmonious whisky. I didn’t think that the modern Talisker 25 would be so good and worthy of our attention. No alcohol content, including residual alcohol. 22 23 22 22

A solid bottling that finds it somewhat difficult to live up to the expectations that naturally arise given its age. On the nose it is relatively closed, not very complex and even a lot of time in the glass does not bring about the turnaround. The palate is always the highlight. The oily body and peppery attack is fun, even if it really fails to impress on the palate. The finish is a bit ashy at first, but then there are nice ripe (fruit) notes that do justice to the age of this bottling.

fresh, menthol, maritime, light smoke. It's all very tasty, but doesn't do justice to a 25y. I lack complexity, especially noticeable age. I don't think it's worth paying the extra for an 18 year old. The old releases in CS were very good. These are a shadow of themselves...

88.50 It's nice and easy to drink, I can't say it's a bad whisky, but a loose movie-style drink for 400 Jurków is a big exaggeration :D

Expected much more complexity... For me 10yo is few levels up of this :/...

A textbook of highly-aged peated whisky. Compared to the 18-year-old the personality of citrus has decreased but the sweetness of fruit and honey have become stronger.

I can’t forget the moment I held it on my palate The nose and finish may not surpass Talisker 18, but the palate alone belongs in a league of its own.

Delicious Talisker, nicely balanced with great aroma and clever complexity. I do miss the citrus influences that are strongly present in the 10y / 18y. But this is certainly not bad either. Less sweetness, more spice, bit of wood, ash. No real smoke smoke - but more a cigarlike aroma. Overall, this 25y has a certain calmness to it. And I can certainly can appreciate that. Delicious!

18yo expression just does it better.

Overall: "Smooth and easy to drink. However, the value for money is questionable." It exhibits delicate and diverse notes and is smooth, making it comfortable to drink. However, the intensity of the aroma and finish is somewhat lacking, and unless you take a generous sip, the flavor intensity also feels like a drawback. Considering that it is by no means cheap even when purchased overseas, if asked, "Does it have any particular strengths compared to Johnnie Walker Blue?", the answer is one of deep disappointment. Given the much higher price, I cannot help but wonder if it would have been better if the ABV had been set at over 48%—even if not close to the 56% of the Johnnie Walker Cask Edition. It has almost nothing lacking to receive excellent reviews, such as diverse layers and good balance, but the single aspect of intensity is fatally disappointing.

Two bottles of Tesca 25 Years were opened at the same time, the 2015 bottled version and the new 2021 bottled version. They are opened at the same time. I like both.

In short, it has a weak peat flavor but not much salty smell of the sea (only the aroma has a slight salty taste), it is quite delicious and has a certain complexity and layering. The aroma and tasting take into account the strength, complexity and pleasure, and the end rhyme is too conservative in comparison. The score is based on the price equivalent to 270 euros, and the overall performance is excellent.

2024-05-05

For me, the age in cask has sucked out the peaty. Citrus, peppery character influence that I love in Talisker. It’s probably a personal preference but I wouldn’t be looking at an aged Talisker. It does however have nice rich sherried notes and you can get why people love this

All kinds of pepper, light lemon tart, apricot, dark oak and smoke, bitter texture, subtle sea breeze, overall smooth but there is no touching point compared to expectation, simplicity

Talisker 25 Year Old, 45.8%. 30ml sample from TSE, consumed June 2025. Very dark orange – looks like it’s been tangoed for sure. Just to even out the colour between batches. Aroma is oysters in butter sauce, sandstone. It almost has an old maize-based grain whisky sweetness. I have a bottle of North British that reminds me of this on the nose. American oak sweetness cut through with an airy minerality. Body is watery+. The cask sweetness merges with the oysters and a light chilli dimension into a cohesive rounded flavour. The building red chilli pepper vibe on the finish is so distinctive to Talisker. There are aspects I like a lot – the balance between the cask and the spirit is really very good indeed – still spirit-led despite the age, nicely supported by the cask flavours. It’s well-judged from that perspective, almost idyllic. For fans of Talisker, yes definitely worth trying without a doubt … although at £425 you do have to ask how much more is being offered than the 10 year old expression (mix in some old grain whisky and you’ll have this). 3.525/84

this new version is alright I do miss the chocolate-milky and fruity flavor of an earlier version the peat of this new one comes a bit artificial......by that I mean it is somehow intended (to present itself) OK after some a few minutes it kinda opens up more, and I get more juice and chocolate milk, good 88.5

A ripe top malt with complex, interwoven aromas and great spiciness.

Excellent Talisker. The nose is the best, real good!

Nose: Heavy and oily whisky. Very dense and complex in aroma. Dark fruits, red fruits, caramel, salt, varnish, light smoke, heather honey, beech wood, sugar cane. Taste: Also very complex. Roasted almonds, salty caramel, toffee, toast, red fruits, pomegranate, a hint of mold from jams, dried mushrooms, baked apples. Finish: Delightfully full and warm. Lots of autumn fruits and delicate cigar smoke.

Relatively flat whisky. For a 25 yo bottling, I would have liked to have been more selective when choosing the barrels. Or is there nothing left in the inventory that still has a beautiful, voluminous body? I wouldn't be willing to spend so much money (> 200 EUR) on such a whisky and I was lucky enough to be able to taste it at a dear friend's.

A solid bottling that has a bit of a hard time living up to the age expectations on the finish. Overall, however, excellently arranged. Balanced enjoyment - dignified and elegant in the glass. Throughout its structure, this talisker is harmoniously shaped by the quarter century. Unfortunately, the price is out of control and it is advisable to mentally ignore it when enjoying it.

A subtle, sweet and extremely drinkable whisky. The sweetness happens without the typical notes of ripe apple or sherry fruit. Slightly less complex than the 18yo.

At first old oak and dark chocolate, then toffee notes, nuts, cinnamon, lots of marine notes and peat atmosphere in the background.

The 25 has the depth that I would have liked in the 18. Overall a good whisky, but it loses a lot for the price.

Overall, the balance is quite good, although it is indeed very watery.

2020 bottling Bottle number: TC25 4032 Very poor indeed for the price. Rather harsh and I have had far smoother whiskies even at cask strength, I can only assume that the quality control and the heart of the distillation didn't quite make it into the cask without some of the harsher spirits. The general flavour is of an initial pleasant sweetness and smoke, but honestly it is not worth the price, and the harshness needs tempering despite 25 years which leads me to suspect that we are dealing with low spirits. Whereas the original cask strength bottling was extraordinary this perhaps only offers a slight step-up from the 18 year old and is marred by a noticeable dryness from the prolonged wood aging and like so many modern whiskies it is thin and lacks body and complexity and doesn't seem to have gained anything from ageing, certainly not any noticeable mellowness or smoothness. Talisker used to be truly unique, with a smokiness and almost volcanic intensity quite distinct from the Islays. Now they are hardly discernible, in their mild and weak mediocrity. I suspect that a lot of mediocre distillations were put in cask and forgotten about, and rediscovered in this present age of whisky boom and these poor quality distilates were duly bottled at maximum price. Be warned. This is not good quality whisky, It is poor quality whisky which has been aged for 25 years to be just about drinkable.

Sorry for this price, no. Cillfiltered, colored. Chill filtration took from it the spiciness. Lagavulin 9 very similar to this one, but costs much less and also has smoke.

A beautifully balanced expression of modern Talisker. One of the finest of your daily drams.

smell 90 taste 90 departure 90

Smooth but packs a punch