Talisker

Talisker_distillery

History The distillery was founded in 1830 by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill, and built in 1831 at Carbost after a number of false starts on other sites when they acquired the lease of Talisker House from the MacLeod of MacLeod. The distillery was rebuilt 1880–87 and extended in 1900. When a new lease for the distillery was negotiated with the chief of Clan MacLeod in 1892 the annual payment was to be £23.12s and a ten-gallon cask of best-quality Talisker. It was rebuilt in 1960 after a stillhouse fire completely destroyed the distillery. The distillery operates five stills; two wash stills and three spirit stills. All the stills use worm tubs (condensing coils) rather than a modern condenser, which are believed to give the whisky a “fuller” flavour (itself an indication of higher sugar content). During this early period, the whisky was produced using a triple distilling method, but changed to the more conventional double distilling in 1928. Talisker was acquired by Distillers Company in 1925 and is now part of Diageo. After the 1960 fire, five exact replicas of the original stills were constructed to preserve the original Talisker flavour. In 1972 the stills were converted to steam heating and the maltings floor was demolished. Talisker’s water comes from springs directly above the distillery via a network of pipes and wells. The malted barley used in production comes from Muir of Ord. Talisker has an unusual feature—swan neck lye pipes. A loop in the pipes takes the vapour from the stills to the worm tubs so some of the alcohol already condenses before it reaches the cooler. It then runs back in to the stills and is distilled again. Talisker now has an annual output of three and a half million litres of spirit.

The Whiskyphiles tasting notes

Official bottling
  • talisker-10-year-old-whisky Talisker 10 Years Old (2016) - Talisker 10 Years Old (45.8%, OB, 2016) Category: Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky Origin: Talisker Distillery Bottling: Diageo ABV: 45.8% Cost: £33.71 What they say: From Malts.com/Talisker Talisker is the only Single […]
  • Talisker-10-Years-Old Talisker 10 Years Old (2020) - Talisker 10 Years Old Whisky Review: Awesome as usual! Full of coastal character, with a rich heather honey sweetness peppered with complimentary spices. 86/100
  • talisker_18YO Talisker 18 Years Old (2015) - Talisker 18 Years Old (45.8%, OB, 2014) Island single malt scotch whisky 45.8% ABV, £73.81 Score: 88/100 What they say: TALISKER 18 YEAR OLD “When first nosed there was fruit, a lot […]
  • Talisker 1989 Distillers Edition Talisker 1989 Distillers Edition (2017) - Full of jammy fruits, rich malt, brine and smoke, a perfect Talisker smothered in jam. 86/100
  • Talisker-2006-DE Talisker 2006 Distillers Edition (2020) - Talisker 2006 Distillers Edition Whisky Review: Much more subtle than the "double-matured" I tried previously, and much better integrated. This feels more like the standard 10 year old expression after receiving a soft fruit infusion. 86/100
  • talisker-2007-bottled-2017-amoroso-cask-finish-distillers-edition-whisky Talisker 2007 Distillers Edition (2020) - A lovely expression full of dark, rich, fruity malt and salty smoke, superb. 86/100
  • talisker-57-degree-north-whisky Talisker 57° North (2020) - Another hugely enjoyable expression from Talisker, sadly discontinued but thankfully this appears to have been replaced with strong and youthful Talisker's featuring in Diageo's special releases - hopefully one day I'll get to try them. 89/100
  • talisker-dark-storm Talisker Dark Storm (2015) - Talisker Dark Storm (45.8%, OB, 2014) Island single malt scotch whisky 45.8% ABV, £44.99 Score: 79/100 What they say: Tasting Notes Talisker Dark Storm is a 45.8% single malt Scotch matured in […]
  • talisker-neist-point-whisky Talisker Neist Point (2017) - Talisker Neist Point (45.8%, OB, 2017) Category: Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky Origin: Talisker Distillery Bottling: Diageo ABV: 45.8% Cost: £92.40 What they say: Talisker Neist Point Named after the headland on […]
  • Talisker-Port-Ruighe-single-malt-scotch-whisky Talisker Port Ruighe (2014) - Talisker Port Ruighe (45.8%, OB, 2014) Island single malt scotch whisky 45.8% ABV, £45 for 70cl Score: 85/100 What they say: Talisker Port Ruighe Double matured in port casks, this malt is […]
  • House Greyjoy Talisker Talisker Select Reserve House Greyjoy (2020) - House Greyjoy Talisker Select Reserve Whisky Review: A classic Talisker, probably a little youngish but with plenty of good peppery smoke and brine, some herbality. My first impression was this was much more buttery/oily/i.e. young compared to drier aged Taliskers, with more time and contemplation I can't shake that briny green olive nature to this which I really like. 83/100
  • talisker-skye-whisky Talisker Skye (2017) - Talisker Skye (45.8%, OB, 2017) Category: Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky Origin: Talisker Distillery Bottling: Diageo ABV: 45.8% Cost: £40.24 What they say: Talisker Skye The Isle of Skye is renowned for […]
  • talisker-skye-whisky Talisker Skye (2020) - Talisker Skye Whisky Review: Much more cereal/barley led than I remember from our last tasting. A sprinkle of salt throughout and some lovely heather honey and yeasty notes shine through that are usually masked a little. This is distinctly Talisker but much more barley driven, I wonder if the relative 'age' of this NAS expression is creeping upwards? 82/100
  • talisker-storm-whisky Talisker Storm (2017) - Talisker Storm (45.8%, OB, 2017) Category: Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky Origin: Talisker Distillery Bottling: Diageo ABV: 45.8% Cost: £40.00 What they say: Talisker Storm Talisker Storm offers the drinker Talisker’s full maritime majesty, […]
  • Talisker-Storm Talisker Storm (2020) - Talisker Storm Whisky Review: Full of tarry and bitumen-like notes, that smoky char is really evident here. 82/100
Independent bottling
Scotch Malt Whisky Society
  • SMWS 14.3 (2015) - Talisker 17 Years Old 1979 14.3 (64.3%, SMWS, 1996) Island single malt scotch whisky 64.3% ABV Score: 92/100 What they say: Cask No. 14.3 Distilled in March 1979 and matured for 17 […]