Talisker 11 Year Old Special Release 2022 Single Malt Whisky

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Bottle of Talisker 11 Year Old Special Release 2022 Single Malt Whisky.

Talisker 11 Year Old Special Release 2022 Single Malt Whisky
AU$210, 55.1% alcohol, Scotch.

RRP for this special release Talisker is AU$210 but I bought it on special (in August 2026) at AU$110, which puts a different perspective on it; one of the main criticisms of this whisky, in the past, has been its high price tag. It’s labelled as Natural Cask Strength. Bottle label itself is a striking, or at least easily-identifiable, design. It’s matured in ex-bourbon American oak casks (first whisky fill) and ex wine casks.

It has plenty of kick and intensity but, once you settle into that, it’s an approachable whisky. When I say approachable here I don’t necessarily mean smooth; I mean that it’s peaty and smoky but in limited measure only; it’s only marginally medicinal; it’s Talisker so it’s aimed at the peat crowd but it’s a balanced version of the style. It’s otherwise a mix of salt and pepper notes, tempered by creamy vanilla and a carry of crisp stonefruit characters, the latter admittedly soaked in brine. As I sat with this the salt-and-smoke notes pushed further forward but never aggressively. Salty, steel, smoky, gravelly aftertaste is particularly pleasing here.

At the discount price I wouldn’t hestitate. Balance, intensity and finish here are all very good.

94 points – Campbell Mattinson.

Campbell Mattinson

This post was written by Campbell Mattinson. Mattinson is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of The Winefront business. He is the author of five books on wine – four of which were bestsellers (The Wine Hunter, the Big Red Wine Book 2008, the Big Red Wine Book 2009, and the Big Red Wine Book 2010).

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the national Best Australian Sports Writing Award. In 2026 three of his photographs were short-listed for the World Food Photography Awards.

Campbell Mattinson, who is 100% independent, has tasted between 5000 and 10,000 wines each and every year for the past 25 years. He tastes blind, in comparative brackets, as often as is practicable.

Campbell Mattinson is a journalist, a photographer, a filmmaker and a wine critic. In all of these mediums his prime motive is to tell people's stories.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com