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A few short days ago I had the honor of being treated to a lovely birthday dinner by my one and only. It was quite a long drive to the place, but nevertheless a pleasant one. This was, mind you, at the start of the sudden cold snap the northeast just received – before temperatures plunged down below freezing in bloody October.

At any rate, our destination was The Grill at Harryman House, an upscale restaurant in northern Reisterstown, Maryland, just after Reisterstown Road becomes Main Street. The place was elegant, with a classy bar area and pleasantly decorated dining areas. A fireplace sat at one end of the room, but sadly it was not lit. There were wine bottles literally filling the alcoves and shelves built into the walls, evidence that their wine selection would just have to be fantastic.

Upon being seated, we ordered our wine and appetizers. Unfortunately, it took the waiter over twenty minutes of searching before he finally gave up and concluded that they didn’t have it. We ordered a different bottle and received it in short order. I must say, it wasn’t an unpleasant experience – watching the waiter gallop about, pulling bottle after bottle from the shelf was quite entertaining. Our meal was equally as fun, and quite delicious. I’ll spare you the details, however, as the real reason I’m telling you this story is because dessert was simply fantastic. While the lady was busy checking out the various cakes and such, I found a more appropriate selection on the dessert menu –- Scotch.

I decided to try this particular one that I’d never heard of before, Talisker 10 Year, simply due to the one-word description next to its name, which described the flavor as “volcanic.” I can only say that whoever wrote that description knew exactly what they were talking about.

Talisker is a single malt Scotch produced on the Isle of Skye. Its golden hue gives off an immense warmth, especially necessary during these fall (or should I say winter) months. I took mine with a splash of water, although I can easily see this one being just fine without.

Talisker is very medicinal on the nose. In fact, I don’t think I got much out of it except the antiseptic scent of alcohol and smoke until about halfway through the glass. The taste, however, was a different story entirely. When they said volcanic, they certainly meant it. This one is, without a doubt, the smokiest Scotch I’ve had the pleasure of sampling. It’s a very bold taste, and one needn’t fill their mouth in order to get the desired effect. That makes this Scotch perfect for a long, relaxing conversation as the drink will simply never vanish. The finish was pleasant, with a dry sweetness which insisted that I keep coming back for more.

Talisker 10 Year can be had at select retailers for between fifty and sixty dollars, on average, making this a steal if you’re looking for flavorful Scotch at a good price.