Talisker "Tactical" 26 year old 1974 Old Malt Cask

Like the whisky from yesterday's review, today's Talisker is a low-abv release from an independent bottler who couldn't use the distillery's name. I tried the two whiskies side-by-side. Yesterday's Talimburg was like a funky herbal liqueur, lessee what today's Tactical turns out to be.

Name: Tactical
Actual Distillery: Talisker

Independent Bottler: Douglas Laing
Range: Old Malt Cask

Age: 26 years (May 1974 - August 2000)

Maturation: an old malt cask?
Bottles: 292

Alcohol by Volume: 44.7%
Chillfiltered? No
Colored? No
Thanks to Cobo for providing the sample!

Its color is gold, darker than yesterday's 19yo. The nose is full of minerals and earth. Chalk, clay and salt. Apples and almonds. Dunnage funk. After 20ish minutes in the glass, the nose trends towards white grapes and peaches. After 30 minutes, vanilla bean and honey appear. The palate starts with lots of baking spice: cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. More pepper than smoke. Briney, with some horseradish. After 20ish minutes, it picks up mint leaves. The brine and horseradish turns into a zesty herbal bitterness. After 30 minutes, it gets toasty, with a gentle toffee sweetness. The finish stays fruity throughout. Sometimes fruit cocktail, sometimes tart limes. Toffee, mint and a light bitterness.

Though I do like the 19yo Talimburg's herbal liqueur style, this 26yo Tactical is more my jam. The herbal notes are there, but so is an impressive amount of minerality (on the nose), sweets and spice (on the palate) and fruit (in the finish). The complexity dazzles considering the low abv, so thankfully the angels didn't steal all the good stuff. If you have a bottle of this release stashed away, Mazel Tov. It's a great one.

Availability - Happy Hunting!
Pricing - ???
Rating - 90