Two different Talisker 20s?

[Sherried Malt]

As a follow-on from Corbuso's comment in the Lagavulin 21 thread, does anyone know anything about the differences between the two versions of 1981 Talisker 20? Corbuso mentioned a 62% abv while the one I have is 59.7%. (Hadn't realized there were two bottlings until his comment...)

Thanks to all.

[martin grant]

Sorry S-M, haven't tasted either bottle myself. I have checked Jim Murray's bible however and can confirm that there are two distinct bottlings. He rates the 62% bottle a 95, saying 'I have been tasting Talisker for 28 years. This is the best bottling ever. Miss this and your life will be incomplete. He also scores the 58.8% bottle very highly, giving it a 93. His quote for this is This is a major whisky for the most demanding of palates. Absolutely no signs of weakness for it's age

Both Royal Mile Whiskies and Loch Fyne Whiskies feature the 58.8% bottling on their websites. Looks like it's still available, for a bargain £90

[Sherried Malt]

Thanks for looking that up, Martin. Now it looks like there are THREE Talisker 20s out there. Wonder if this was from 1981 too...

This hobby is getting complicated.

[pavv]

There are 3 Talisker 20's that I know of:

Talisker 20yo 1981/2002 (62%, OB, Sherry, 9000 Bts.)
Talisker 20yo 1982/2003 'Refill casks' (58.8%, OB, 12000 Bts.)
Talisker 20yo 1982/2002 (59.7%, OB, US Release)

The first one is a big Sherry whisky and quite unique because you hardly ever see Talisker from sherrycasks. I have the pleasure of owning a bottle of this nectar and I find it great whisky (on par with the new Lagavulin 21, which also is splendid)

The second one is a more subdued expression of Talisker. No bold sherry, but a more classic Talisker, closer to the 18yo. Also really nice whisky. Don't have a bottle (yet ) but would buy it by the case if I could find it voor $100.

On a educated guess I would say that the third one is more close to the 58.8% version than the 62%, and almost certainly the 59,7% is NOT very sherried....never tasted this one though.

And I also heartily recommend the Talisker 25. Great potion and the 2006 version is the greatest of the bunch.

[jimidrammer]

I had the Talisker 20yo 1982/2002 (59.7%, OB, US Release). I got it hoping it was similar to the 62% version. I was sorely disappointed in it. There was some dry sherry to it, but an overwhelming bitter note left it very unbalanced. It had some complexity that made it interesting to nose , but the palate profile wasn't my style, sort of like a Macallan 18yo. The 2004 Talisker 25yo is an amazing bottle at about the same price around here. Powerful, balanced, and tasty. I've acquired a couple replacements and hope to see later releases. Talisker remains one of my top ten distilleries and is well represented in the U.S. with at least 6 expressions.

[Sherried Malt]

There are 3 Talisker 20's that I know of:

Talisker 20yo 1981/2002 (62%, OB, Sherry, 9000 Bts.)
Talisker 20yo 1982/2003 'Refill casks' (58.8%, OB, 12000 Bts.)
Talisker 20yo 1982/2002 (59.7%, OB, US Release)

The first one is a big Sherry whisky and quite unique because you hardly ever see Talisker from sherrycasks. I have the pleasure of owning a bottle of this nectar and I find it great whisky (on par with the new Lagavulin 21, which also is splendid)

The second one is a more subdued expression of Talisker. No bold sherry, but a more classic Talisker, closer to the 18yo. Also really nice whisky. Don't have a bottle (yet ) but would buy it by the case if I could find it voor $100.

On a educated guess I would say that the third one is more close to the 58.8% version than the 62%, and almost certainly the 59,7% is NOT very sherried....never tasted this one though.

And I also heartily recommend the Talisker 25. Great potion and the 2006 version is the greatest of the bunch.

We can now add a fourth to the list. The 20 I have is:

59.7% abv, 1981/2002, OB, 9000 bottles (bought in the US)