Talisker Storm is for the person who tried the Talisker 10, enjoyed the pepper and thought it would be better if the island were angrier. It arrived in 2013 with no age statement, a 45.8% strength and a name that sounds like a weather warning, and this Talisker Storm review comes down to one question. Does turning up the volume on a very good whisky make it a better one, or just a louder one?
My view is that it makes Talisker louder. The Caskable score is 68, which isn’t an insult. It’s a characterful malt standing next to a better one, and the better one is usually a few pounds cheaper.
Talisker sits on the shore of Loch Harport at Carbost on the Isle of Skye, it dates from 1830, and Diageo owns it. It’s the island’s long-established distillery (Torabhaig has since joined it) and it has a style that’s easy to recognise: salt, pepper and a smoky warmth that sits more in the chest than the nose. If you’ve only ever had the 10, you know the template.
Storm is a no-age-statement single malt, bottled at 45.8% like the 10, and the cask story is vague. Most sources say refill and toasted American oak, while one blog describes re-charred ex-bourbon barrels. That mismatch tells you something. With a NAS bottle you’re trusting the blender rather than a number on the label, and the label doesn’t say much.
Storm is young, fruity and intense, which is roughly what you’d expect when a distillery reaches for impact instead of age. That isn’t a flaw in itself. It’s a choice, and the question is whether you’d make the same one with your £45.
The nose is young fruit, peat smoke, black pepper and a malty sweetness with some red berries, with mint and sea air arriving later. It reads like a harbour wall in a stiff breeze, with someone nearby smoking a pipe.
On the palate I get salted caramel and ripe red berries first, then peat smoke, black pepper and clove, with the sweetness and the smoke more or less in balance. Peppery and maritime is the shorthand worth remembering.
The finish is described as long and smoky, with walnut, espresso and sea salt. Long isn’t the same as complex. It’s a finish that keeps talking rather than one that has anything new to say.
Storm is more intense than the 10 but no more refined, and I cannot find a clear improvement. That is the basis for the Caskable score of 68.
Neat first, in a small glass, with a few drops of water. At 45.8% it doesn’t need much, but a little water takes the edge off the pepper without flattening the smoke. I’d skip the ice, because it dulls exactly the sea-and-smoke character you’re paying for.
Where Storm earns its keep is in a drink. A float on a Penicillin gives you smoke and pepper without an Islay bill, and a highball with plenty of soda turns it into something like smoky peppered lemonade, which is more enjoyable than it sounds. Anything smoked or salty on the plate, from oysters to smoked salmon to a hard cheese, can stand up to it.
The site price of about £45 for 70 cl is a touch above the Talisker 10 at about £42, and prices for Storm swing around depending on the shop and the month. At around £35 it’s an interesting side-step. At £47 you’re paying a premium for a bigger personality, not a better whisky.
The real question is what else £45 buys. Ardbeg 10 costs about the same, with more smoke and more depth, and the Talisker 10 gives you most of the Storm for a few pounds less. Storm’s best argument is that it does one thing loudly. If that’s what you want, it’s fine. If you want the best £45 whisky on the shelf, it isn’t. Prices move, so check the retailer link on this page before buying.
A few other bottles are worth a look before you commit to Talisker Storm, and the cards below show how they stack up on score and price.
It is the obvious comparison and the one I’d buy first, because it’s better balanced and has more finish for a similar price.
It gives you a different kind of smoke, earthier and tarrier rather than peppery, at about the same cost.
It is cleaner and oilier, a good choice if you want smoke without the pepper, though it costs noticeably more.
If you want something gentler and fruitier, it has a lighter smoke.
Someone who likes Talisker’s pepper and wants more of it, who already knows the 10 and has a sense of what they might be missing. It’s also a handy bottle for cocktails where you want a smoky, peppery spirit that doesn’t taste medicinal. If you’re new to peated whisky, start with the 10. Storm is the sequel, and the sequel needs the original.
A bold, peppery, brine-heavy island malt that doesn’t improve on the whisky it’s based on. Well made, easy to find and entertaining for an evening, but the 10 does the job better. Caskable score: 68 out of 100.
Young fruit, peat smoke and black pepper over malty sweetness, with mint and sea air arriving later.
Salted caramel and ripe red berries, then peat smoke, black pepper and clove. Peppery and maritime.
Long and smoky, with walnut, espresso and sea salt. Long, but not especially complex.
Bold, peppery and brine-heavy. Well made, but it does not improve on the 10.
Thomas Grønvold is the founder of Caskable and a whisky enthusiast who believes the best way to learn about whisky is simply to drink it, compare it, and stay curious. From supermarket favourites to bottles from distilleries around the world, he writes about what he actually tastes and experiences, without pretending you need to be an expert to enjoy a good dram.
View profile →
