The Perfect Collection by Mr. Richard Gooding Digital Catalogue - Magazine - Page 77
GORDON & MACPHAIL
1950s TALISKER BOTTLINGS
By Angus MacRaild
Rare Whisky Expert and Writer
T
he 1950s was a pretty sublime decade for
Talisker. The examples showcased here
bottled by Gordon & MacPhail such as the
1951, 1952 and 1953 exhibit the kind of structured,
sinewed fusion of peat, sherry and peppery salinity
which, when tasted, remind you why such a divide
between ‘modern’ and ‘old’ style has arisen in Scotch
Whisky. These bottlings open a window on a
thoroughly extinct era of production methodology,
ingredients and cask type. The fact of their flavour
profiles makes them simultaneously relevant historical
artefacts, illustrative benchmarks of quality and
profoundly useful inspirations for what the future of
Scotch Whisky should endeavour to reclaim. It feels
sad to discuss such bottles in terms of ‘investment’,
but whatever purpose drives their acquisition,
they are as much an investment in pleasure as in
value. They extend beyond simply being ‘amazing
Taliskers’, to sit amongst some of the finest bottled
historical examples of Scottish single malt.
77