Talisker unveils a 40-year-old whiskey via its Glacial Edge 45-Year-Old.
The final release in the Xpedition Series, a trilogy of whiskies inspired by the wild and its spirit of adventure, the expression was aged over four decades before being finished in ice-fractured oak casks, a new experiment in whisky craft and a first for Talisker.
Twelve of the Talisker distillery heavily-charred American Oak casks used to age this whisky were taken on a glacial voyage into Canada’s ice fields. A specialized cooper removed the ends of the casks, exposing them to sub-zero temperatures and biting Arctic winds for 96 hours. This allowed the extreme cold to fracture the wood, which in turn increased the surface area of the casks, altering the liquid’s interactions with the casks during the finishing period in Scotland.
This journey to the ice fields was taken hand-in-hand with Talisker’s partner, Parley For the Oceans, and led by glacier scientist Dr. Alison Criscitiello. The team traversed across wild terrain and into ice caves, where Dr. Criscitiello helped the team understand how the planet’s ecosystems are interconnected, from the glacial fields of Canada to the sea surrounding the Talisker distillery’s home on the Isle of Skye off Northwest Scotland. This is the third year of Talisker’s collaboration with Parley to support their organization’s protection and preservation of marine ecosystems globally, with a portion of the funds from Talisker Glacial Edge 45-Year-Old sales donated to support this cause.
“From glacial ice to kelp forests, everything is interconnected and our world is changing faster than we know,” said Cyrill Gutsch, Founder and CEO, Parley for the Oceans. “Deep down, we all understand that we must rapidly transform how we create, think and live together. This limited-edition 45-Year-Old Whisky is an opportunity to tell the story of a fast-changing environment within a product shaped by time and nature, while supporting more of the climate research, activism and human connection that is urgently needed.”
The first was Talisker Xpedition Oak 43-Year-Old released in 2021, aged in casks that used wooden staves which crossed the Atlantic. In 2022, the distillery released Talisker Forests of the Deep 44-Year-Old, finished in staves that were brought onboard an expedition to one of the world’s largest kelp forests and finished in barrels charred with sustainably farmed sea kelp.
The lineup is complete with the release of Talisker Glacial Edge 45-Year-Old in 2023. The distillery’s first-ever release of a 45-year-old Single Malt Scotch Whisky unearths new, resilient depths of the Talisker character. Revealing unexplored richness, complexity and a unique untamed flavor attributed to the whisky’s deep travels into the splinters of its American Oak ex-Bourbon barrels, this whisky embodies both spiced and sweet aromas.
Talisker Glacial Edge Aged 45 Years Single Malt Scotch Whisky is available for $5,000.
