The Talisman

Now, a lot of people often look down on blended Scotch as being qualitatively inferior to Single Malt Scotch in every way and to be entirely fair...it is not entirely inaccurate, simply because there are so many terrible budget blends out there that have a single raison d’etre: to function as a cheap cocktail filler at bars and clubs. While they are great for that purpose... when sipped neat, the worst of them are often difficult to distinguish from toilet cleaner, thus giving the entire category of blended scotch a bad name, prejudicing scores upon scores of whisky drinkers against them.

This is a crying shame, because there are some damn good whiskies in the blended Scotch category! Everyone knows Diageo's Johnnie Walker range, which for the most part are of exceptional quality, but unfortunately they usually come with a hefty price tag.

HOWEVER!

Unbeknownst to many whisky lovers and aficionados, there exists a bargain basement shelf blended scotch that defies the conventional wisdom. Enter, the Talisman.

The Talisman is a blended Scotch whisky produced by the Tomatin distillery as their low cost, budget offering. Tomatin is a highland distillery located in the tiny little village of the same name. It sits at the north-western entrance to the Cairngorms national park and is about halfway between the Scottish city of Inverness and the ski resort village of Aviemore. Once I get around to making a biography of each distillery, I’ll add a link here.

One of the defining features of this blend is that it is said to have a relatively high malt whisky content. I’ve heard it comes in at around 20% which honestly isn’t bad, given the price point that it comes in at. It’s also recommended by Tomatin to have this as a highball, rather than neat, but I’m not going to do that. I shall be tasting this whisky neat... for science!

Vitals:

ABV: 40%

Colour: Amber (caramel colouring added)

Chill-filtered: Yes

Nose: a whiff of smoke and earthy peat hits you but quickly recedes leaving a sweet grain note, apples and hints of ginger and honey. The smoke is almost non-existent on the second nosing, instead replaced by a malty sweet scent. 19/25

Palate: Fresh apples and flowery honey on the forefront with a flavourful malty sweetness. A little earthy, but not overly so. Most surprisingly, salty notes could be detected on a second tasting, giving it an almost salted caramel mouthfeel. Very smooth and easy going.18/25

Finish:Thin and relatively short, with the classic metallic, grainy notes of a young blend becoming far more prominent before being rescued by a reappearance smoke at the tail end. 10/25

Value*: The Talisman comes in at an extraordinarily low price point in most countries where it can be found. In South Korea, it’s one of the few drinkable whiskies that can be found on the bottom shelf <W15,000 bracket. Although it doesn’t have the complexity of other peated blended whiskies like Johnnie Walker Black, it’s far cheaper and thus offers far more bang for your buck. Make no mistake, in this part of the world, you simply will not find another whisky that even comes close to offering what this one does at such a low price point. 25/25

Conclusion:

The Talisman is one of those whiskies that’s pretty average across the board. It has a pretty good nose and the palate is decent, with a nice peatiness that feels a lot more forward than more premium blends such as JW black, yet not oppressively so. But it’s let down by its lack of complexity and its relatively thin and short finish, where the metallic grain notes really seem to come out. It’s completely inoffensive though and doesn’t have the harsh, bitter industrial cleaner chemical notes often associated with other bottom shelf blended scotches. It’s not great, sure, and hell... it could even be said to be a little bland. However, for what it is, especially at the rock bottom price point it comes in at in South Korea, I give this whisky a thumbs up. You can’t really do better than this if you’re looking for a cheap bottle to sip from every day.

Basic Rating(N+P+F): 62.6%

Price Adjusted Rating(N+P+F+V)*: 72%

Daily Drinker: Yes.

Possible pairing: Pork, Seafood, cheese

Where to find in Korea: E-mart, Wine & More

TLDR Version:

N: light smoke, light peat, grain, apples, ginger, honey

P: fresh apples, flowers, honey, malty, earthy, salted caramel

F: thin & relatively short, metallic, smoke

V: Dirt cheap

Buy / Mooch / Pass: Buy

Review by Glasgowhisky

2019/12/30