Talisker Xpedition is a whisky of the wild.
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Inspired by adventure, shaped by nature and finished in oak that has tasted wilderness.
Inspired by adventure, shaped by nature and finished in oak that has tasted wilderness. With this 43-year-old whisky we are pioneers once more, harnessing the adventure of a lifetime into a whisky as bold as those willing to embrace it. A transatlantic journey following in the wake of Talisker's own Atlantic Challenge – the premier event in ocean rowing which sees competitors race across 3000 miles of untamed sea.
Talisker’s Xpedition Oak sees a selection of oaken staves traverse the Atlantic before they are crafted into casks which will hold our oldest, most daring whisky yet. With each of these 2000 limited-run bottles, we pay our respects to those who came before and give voice to those who will forever forge ahead into uncharted waters. This is a whisky born of the wild.
Kin to the unknown.
James Aiken was born by the ocean; he took his first steps on sea legs and has pursued a life of adventure every day since. His first memory of our island home was sailing past at night as an ominous storm circled its rocky shores. Lighthouses illuminated Skye's imposing cliff faces, and he immediately felt the powerful force of nature that lay dormant under its rugged mountainscapes.
The MacAskill brothers felt it too. Now, years later, Talisker beckons James to join us for a new adventure – one that ventures from La Gomera off the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean island of Antigua. James brings with him with a companion: a 33-foot yacht named Oaken Yarn. Built in ’76, his Tradewind 33 is not known for her speed but she is strong, capable and unlikely to let him down. We selected James to safeguard the very first Xpedition Oak for those same reasons. We raise a glass to the single-handed sailor, adventurer and pioneer at the helm of this first foray, guiding our precious cargo across a wild, untamed sea.
Adventure’s calling. Answer.
The single-handed sailor is a rare beast, but not extinct. Find yourself alone at sea and it’s not a matter of if you'll come face to face with the raw elements – it’s a matter of when. Once dry land slips from view, your choices are yours and yours alone to make. Your wellbeing depends on your willingness to engage the elemental and harness the forces of nature that arrive unannounced. And unforgiving. Early in the journey you will be pulled into the present. You'll look around at the encircling horizon, absorb the sun and feel the sea, breathe in the salt and spices carried on an ocean breeze. Savour these moments. They make all the hard work and meticulous preparation worthwhile. Lashed to the deck of the Oaken Yarn, our hand-picked collection of staves prepares to traverse the wild seas of the Atlantic. They set sail for Antigua. The mountainous island of La Gomera, rife with jagged, volcanic cliff faces, marks the beginning of this story. For 3000 miles and 24 days, the ocean breeze, the sun and the stars will be the staves’ closest companions. Our brave single-handed sailor, their only guide through the great unknown. The single-handed sailor hopes for the best, but is always prepared for the worst. When you’re crossing the Atlantic, this preparation is the sum of two parts: confidence in the craft and confidence in oneself. Anything that happens must be handled – alone and unmoved. There is little time for emotion beyond the occasional overwhelming sense of awe when witnessing nature’s true strength. When a squall erupts over the Oaken Yarn's path and a vicious trio of swells converge and battle for influence, cooler heads prevail. The high-energy weather system turns day to night and batters the boat with intense winds and crushing waves. The Oaken Yarn yaws unpredictably and seems to rise and fall almost vertically. In conditions like this, ten minutes of manhandling sails, lines and the boat itself can feel like a lifetime. But it must be overcome, there’s no other choice. A life at sea isn’t always easy, but nothing worth having ever is. We’ve known that for almost 200 years.
Each new morning of the Xpedition Oak journey, the sun rises from behind. It gently arcs up and over the port rail before swooping across the bow to set directly ahead. East to west. Day to night. At sea, setbacks are best solved in sunlight. But the power of being alone on an endless ocean emerges mostly in darkness. As the sun sets and you’re left to navigate by the celestial dome with the brilliant Polaris at its centre, your sight fades and the rest of your senses come alive. You smell the salt and the sea like never before. You hear the creaking in the rigging, the stretching of the sails, and you don’t so much as feel the movement of the boat – you become the boat. You sense the compass direction by the way the swell moves around you. You embody your instruments; hear the boat accelerating by the change in pitch of the water rushing past the hull. The whistle of the wind is enough to signal a direction change. After 24 days and 23 nights, the boat itself feels like an extra limb, and you start to think that being lost at sea might be less of a curse and more of a craving. At 43 years, our longest voyage yet, Xpedition Oak feels like the closest we’ve come to harnessing this very feeling. The closer our sailor comes to his destination, the more restless he becomes. Perhaps it’s the anticipation of a job well done, or a melancholy understanding that one more adventure is coming to an end. The sea feels calmer the closer our voyage gets. The Oaken Yarn has left thousands of miles in her wake and although the sailing is as smooth as its been, the first glimpse of land is always bittersweet. A sense of impatience takes hold and when the wind gives our sailor a slight angle, he can’t help but put some pressure in the rig. Nelson’s Dockyard on Antigua’s south coast exudes a restorative and sensual beauty, glinting with emerald greens and turquoise blues. Its sturdy wharves lead to old colonial buildings built of solid brick and set in history. 200 years ago, these docks harboured warships. Now they greet one more weary traveller who, 3000 miles and 24 days after first setting sail, carefully unloads the oaken staves that were his closest companions. Where this journey ends, another begins for Xpedition Oak.
Where one adventure ends, another begins.
At Talisker, the sea surrounds us but it also lives within us. It will always be there, willing us on. It’s the exhilaration of adventure that inspires this uniquely wild trophy malt and the ones that will follow in its wake. They are all dedicated to you: the brave, the bold, the resilient and the restless. To you, we raise a glass and toast to the next adventure. And the next.