Talisker 1982 - 20 Year Old - Special Releases 2003

INFORMATION

Talisker 1982 - 2003. 20 Year Old. Bottled by Diageo for their Special Releases in 2003. One of 12,000 bottles. 70cl. 58.8%.

One of a handful of 20-year-old Taliskers that appeared in the early years of the Diageo Special Releases before being replaced by the 25-year-old and 30-year-old editions. This 1982 Talisker 20-year-old was bottled at a hefty 58.8% in 2003 and was a vatting of refill bourbon casks, in contrast to the earlier (more celebrated) sherried editions. Perhaps for that reason this wonderful Talisker is often overlooked, despite being one of the distillery’s greatest official bottlings in the modern era.

DISTILLERY:Talisker

DISTILLERY STATUS:Working

Bottle ABV:58.8%

Bottle SIZE:70cl / 700ml

Bottle PRODUCED:12,000

BOTTLER:Distillery Bottling

SPIRIT TYPE:Scotland

LIMITED EDITION:yes

CASK TYPE:Single Malt

REGION:Island

DISTILLED YEAR:1982

BOTTLING DATE::2003

AGE:20

Founded in 1830, Talisker’s medium-peated whisky perfectly expresses the rugged terrain of the distillery’s surroundings on the western Hebridean Isle of Skye, where it was the only legal distillery for many decades until the recent arrival of Torabhaig.

Talisker had been one of the stars of Scottish Malt Distillers’ portfolio for decades before the launch of the Classic Malts series in 1987 cemented the distillery’s popularity in the modern era. Early examples of Talisker’s single malt were bottled over a century ago by merchants including Berry Brothers and there were numerous official bottlings from around the 1940s onwards.

The old style Talisker's thrillingly savage spirit has been tamed this century, regrettably, but the extraordinary early cask strength Special Release Taliskers bottled between 2001-2010 still offer great value at auction.