Talisker 10

I have a weakness for Talisker. It's one of those whiskies that just appeal to me due to the taste profile, and, I admit, the marketing. Only distillery on the Isle of Skye has an exclusive ring to it. The "king of drink" title bestowed by a literary giant helps too. I like to tell myself that it's primarily the taste and feel of the drink that I like, and the marketing is just a nice veneer. But these kinda things work subconsciously...

Talisker 10 (45.8% abv, which is the Talisker standard nowadays)

Colour - Gold. I suspect this one has been chill filtered, and colouring added. 

Nose - Rather inconsistent from sniff to sniff. On the whole, there are whiffs of pepper, a hefty dosage of salt, a bit of alcohol sting, and some faint hints of coconut, oak and even fainter suggestions of vanilla. Peat comes across as well, though it seems to come and go. Some smoke too, but, like the peat, it isn't an ever-present.

Palate - Peat, smoke, oak, some hints of coconut. There is some vanilla sweetness as well, but in the Talisker 10, it's a little hard to find. The 18 is a lot more forthcoming with its sweetness. But when it hits, it's like the peat and smoke suddenly clears, you've unexpectedly stepped out of the peat bog into an oasis of sweet vanilla, as if everything has been building up towards this moment of sudden sweet clarity...and then the pepper, smoke and peat engulfs you again. Sweet momentary respite, but not for long. 

Finish - Talisker's signature black pepper finish, and the pepper in this is quite hot. Smoke lingers, as does some peat. The oak is barely discernible, but I think there's some caramel colouring left right at the end, within bearable limits.

Overall - One of the first few whiskies that I really liked. As mentioned in my review of the Talisker 18, this one is not as accomplished as the Talisker 18, but I think it is more value-for-money.