Talisker is renowned for its high peat content (25 parts per million, as it happens), which is due not just to the way the spirit is processed, but also to the pure spring water from the Cnoc nan Speirag, which itself flows over peat. So not a scotch for the shy, as its initial heady peat-smoke aromas will attest. There’s a salty and citrus tang on the attack, then notes of dried-fruit that lend a slight sweetness to the mid palate. Warming malt characters carry you through to a spicy finish. Enlivened, you find you still can’t pronounce that waterway.

Gold Medal Winner