IB G&M 38yo 1955 53.6% - Talisker

[Malt-Teaser]

Talisker 1955, 38y, G&M

Colour: Dark, liquid raisins

Nose: Raisins, prunes, rich old oak and a hint of molasses.

Palate: Wow! This is rich and smooth. It has everything promised by the nose, rich dark fruits like raisins, prunes and currants. It then expands into an unbelievable Christmas Pudding flavour. I want to say it also has nuts and marzipan, but not quite. Those can be delicate flavours but there is nothing delicate about this dram. It is FULL POWER, in your face and totally UN-subtle. If I were given this blind, I would probably never guess it was a Talisker, but I would say it was old, maybe older than the 38y that it is. I have tried the 40y Dalmore and I may suggest this were a similar dram, but even older.

With water: Just a few drops of water in about 2cl brings out more oak on the nose. As for flavour; possibly even more intense, but smoother. It is almost burnt raisins!

Overall Impression: A real experience. Powerful flavour overload which fits the bill if you are not looking for subtlety, gentle floral flavours and delicacy. In fact, when compared to rum, I would liken this to 'Wood's old Navy 100%', it's dark, rich and unbelievably powerful in flavour. A bottle of this would currently cost around €400-€500 and although I have adored tasting this dram, there is no way I would pay that kind of price to enjoy it again. When I bought a bottle of this in 1993-4 the 35cl version was 50 GBP and if it were still available at that price, I may buy one to try again.