Scotland, Day 3: Sea Bass and Talisker on Skye
Scotch
| Talisker | What I thought |
|---|---|
| 10 Year Old | Caramel/gold, medium body. Smoke, a pepper finish, and sea spray. Smoky, but not Islay. |
| Wild Blue | Reddish tint from the red wine cask. Light smoke, peat, and salt. Nice. |
| Distillery Exclusive | Heavily charred ex-bourbon, ex-rum, and ex-sherry casks. A run of 9,500 bottles. |
Breakfast was haggis toast with so much bacon in it. Very tasty. We were on the bus by 8:30 and at the Fairy Glen an hour later: green, green hills, sheep, and Castle Ewen.
At noon we stopped in Portree for Sea Breezes. Ksenia’s mussels were smaller and more delicate than the ones we get in the States. Big thumbs up. I had the sea bass special with crushed potatoes, tomatoes, black olives, and Parmesan. Very good. Best bass I’ve ever had? The owners were Polish and very happy to talk with Ksenia.
At 2:00 we toured Talisker. Their Porteus mill came with the story that the manufacturer went out of business because the mills never broke. The Douglas fir wash tanks were five meters tall, filled to about four meters to leave room for bubbles. We also saw the worm cooling system.
Then the tasting. Talisker 10 uses American white oak; the smoke was there, with that peppery finish and sea spray. Wild Blue is a collaboration with the Blue Marine Foundation, with £3 from each bottle going to the foundation. I liked its salty, peaty character.
Outside the distillery, today’s animal sightings were sheep, moo-cows, and one goat. We saw several waterfalls, but no Fairy Pools.
Part of our August 2025 Scotland trip. Trip summary.
From the Notebook
