Hunter Laing - Talisker 2008 - 9 Year Old - Old Malt Cask

This marks the second installment in a five-part series reviewing independent bottlings from a local shop. Our tasting order: 1. Càrn Mòr - Strictly Limited - Benrinnes 10 Year Old 2009 2. Hunter Laing - Talisker 2008 - 9 Year Old Old Malt Cask 3. Claxton's The Single Cask - Bunnahabhain 2013 - Staoisha - 6 Years Old 4. Caol Ila 5-Year-Old 2009 - Hepburn's Choice (Langside) 5. Ardnamurchan Spirit 2019 AD Given that my favorite from the previous tasting was also an Old Malt Cask release (a Coal Ila 9 year old - see my review elsewhere), I was eager to sample this Talisker. My son fortunately concurred. This 9-year-old Talisker, distilled in 2008 and aged for nine years in a single sherry cask (HL 15652), has only 376 bottles produced. I've had Talisker before (10 years, Skye, Storm, Dark Storm), but the sherry cask maturation provided a somewhat different experience. It's like adding a faint touch of sunshine to the Storm, if that comparison makes sense... Anyway, here are our impressions: My son detected notes of sea salt and smoke on the nose, along with something else – which I identified as peppery caramel. This returned on the palate, accompanied by added fruitiness (clearly from the sherry, but thankfully not overpowering) and more peat. The finish lingered, predominantly with fruity notes. We both agreed this was a significant improvement over the Benrinnes, which had already started strong. I concluded that this might be my top pick for this tasting, though I haven't tried the remaining ones yet... To continue reading, the other reviews will be available here shortly. To discover the ultimate choice (the bottle we bought), refer to the final review (Ardnamurchan).