hs305 scored this whisky 85 points

...and it is much better than the 2016 release but still miles away from the excellence of the older "Distillery Only" bottlings (like WB id 3035). Still they use a significant share of virgin oak casks in this release but luckily it is not as extreme as with the 2016. But dear Diageo - could you please tell me: What the hell is exclusive about the use of virgin oak casks for Scotch malt whisky (except you want to produce a bourbon-style whisky) - this one is not worth buying even not at half of its price, if you ask me...
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The colour is old gold and the nose offers a light profile on heather honey, some spices and barley sugars - and luckily a bearable wood influence. Did they hear the bang and they reduced the share of virgin oak in this? This nose is much more to my liking than the 2016's, actually it is pretty good. Water does not change a lot...
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The taste is sugary sweet with honey flavours and spices but almost no maritime notes again - obviously they store all the casks in the huge warehouse complexes on the mainland (actually, they transport the spirit over there using tank lorries and fill it into the casks on the mainland). Sadly, as I loved the maritime flavours in older Talisker bottlings that matured on Skye...
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The whisky arrives warming and somewhat coating in the mouth with no distracting feeling except a minor drying-astringent moment (from tannins, of course they used some virgin oak in this batch but this share is acceptable to my taste buds). The finish is of medium length and even more sweet than the taste with a significant drying-astringent feeling now (the tannins strike back at the end, unfortunately). Water is not needed as it just flattens the taste - and the reduced dram gets one-dimensional sweet too...