18 Years (700 ml)
฿฿฿
From our sommelier team
A maritime, moderately peated single malt from the only distillery on the Isle of Skye — richer, more balanced and less fiery than the standard Talisker 10, without losing the house's signature smoke and pepper.
Talisker 18 Year Old is distilled at Carbost on the Isle of Skye, using copper pot stills fitted with distinctive swan-neck lye pipes that contribute to the spirit's characteristic weight and complexity. The barley is lightly peated (commonly cited around 18-20 ppm phenol content), giving a smoky backbone that is more restrained than heavily-peated Islay malts but still clearly present. Where the standard 10 Year Old is prized for its punchy, maritime, pepper-and-smoke immediacy, the 18 Year Old trades some of that youthful fire for greater balance and depth from extended cask aging: expect Victoria plum, dried orange peel and butterscotch on the nose over a thread of peat smoke, with a palate that opens sweet before turning to a peppery, saline finish with coal-tar and toffee notes. It is widely regarded within the whisky trade as one of the more complete, well-integrated expressions in Talisker's range, having previously been named Best Single Malt in the World at the World Whiskies Awards. As a non-flagship age statement it occupies a middle position in the range — older and more refined than the 10 Year Old, but not part of Talisker's rarer limited or cask-strength releases.
Producer history
Talisker distillery was founded in 1830 by brothers Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill, sons of a local doctor, at Carbost on the Isle of Skye — a remote location for industrial-scale whisky production at the time. The brothers went bankrupt in 1848 and the lease passed to a bank before Roderick Kemp purchased the distillery in 1880, stabilizing operations; by 1898 Talisker was among the best-selling whiskies in the country. Kemp sold his controlling share to the Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1916, and DCL's later mergers and acquisitions formed the basis of what is now Diageo, the drinks conglomerate that owns Talisker today as part of its 'Classic Malts' collection. The distillery remains the only whisky distillery on Skye and trades heavily on its remote, coastal 'Made by the Sea' identity as part of its brand history.
Signature pairings
- Smoked salmon — The whisky's maritime, peated character is a classic match for smoked fish, echoing rather than fighting the smoke and salinity.
- Dark chocolate (70%+) — The whisky's toffee, dried-fruit and pepper notes stand up to bitter dark chocolate, with the spirit's warmth complementing cocoa's bitterness rather than being overwhelmed by sweetness.
- Tom yum goong (spicy-sour shrimp soup) (ต้มยำกุ้ง) — Talisker's peppery, saline finish can hold its own against tom yum's chili heat and sour lemongrass-lime character, with the whisky's smoke offering a contrasting savory note to the soup's brightness.
Talisker distillery has operated on the storm-battered western shore of Loch Harport since 1830, making it Skye's oldest and only distillery — a geographic isolation that forced the house to develop its own character rather than follow mainland convention. The Isle of Skye sits on ancient Precambrian basalt and gabbro bedrock, and the distillery draws water from Cnoc nan Speireag, a source filtered through that volcanic rock, contributing a mineral salinity that runs through every expression. Atlantic gales push sea spray directly into the warehouses, accelerating the interaction between spirit and wood with a brine-laden atmosphere no inland distillery can replicate. Talisker 18 Year Old is matured in a combination of ex-American bourbon barrels and ex-European sherry casks, with the extended 18-year contact allowing the sherry influence to build dried-fruit and spice layers over the distillery's signature peated malt character. The peat used at Talisker is sourced locally from Skye, producing a smoke profile distinct from Islay's iodine-heavy phenols — earthier, with a black-pepper finish that is a documented house hallmark. Bottled at 45.8% ABV without chill-filtration, preserving the natural oils that carry texture and aroma. Within the Talisker range, the 18-year age statement occupies a rare position where sherry-cask sweetness genuinely overtakes the smoke rather than merely accompanying it.
Details
- Country
- Scotland
- Region
- Isle of Skye
- Subregion
- Isle of Skye
- Variety
- Single Malt
- Bottle size
- 700 ml
Taste profile
- Body
- Full
Pairs well with
- Shellfish & crustaceans
- Grilled red meat & steak
- Hard & aged cheese
- Dark chocolate & cocoa
- Caviar & luxury seafood
- Game meats
Sommelier’s pick: Grilled Orkney scallops with brown butter and capers · Slow-braised beef short rib with smoked paprika jus · Aged Comté or Manchego with honeycomb
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