Gordon & MacPhail, Talisker 1987, 39 Year Old

The nose on this Talisker tells a myriad of stories – warming and cosy with toasted cupboard spices, a lick of orange oil cuts through just the slightest hint of smoke and the crunch of roasted hazelnut skin. On the palate, much more fruit bursts through – prunes, raisins, sultanas – as I'd expect from the butt it has spent time in, while the nuttiness has transformed into something more waxy and those spices start to really warm up, too. The finish starts strong with a deepening of the orange and the smoke really starts to take over. A tingly pepper spice remains right until the end. A dram which is as storied as the distillery it came out of.

The nose on this whisky is like opening up a spice rack: sweet, savory, funky. There's huge complexity sitting among tangerines and sweet smoke. Tailsker's usual coastal minerality is there, but it's sitting second fiddle on this occasion. The palate gives you much more sweet orange peel, tangerines, mandarins. It's a myriad of orange fruits. There's none of the usual dryness you typically get from a first-fill sherry butt, and it's remarkably vibrant for such an old, smoky whisky. The coastal smoke comes late as part of a long finish, which mixes with antique oak to give you a hint of its age.