Talisker
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Carbost,
Skye Scotland IV47 8SR
Tel: +44
(0) 1478 614308 / Fax: +44
(0) 1478 614302
Viewer's Comments about Talisker
 Here,
lodged far from any neighbour in the small coastal community
of Carbost at the head of Loch Harport, is one of the finest
yet most remote distilleries of all. It
was in 1825 that came here from the smaller island of Eigg,
first to bring sheep to Skye, then to bring Skye's wild spirit
to the world.
Leasing
Macleod land at Carbost, the MacAskills built Talisker Distillery
in 1830 against the fiery protestations of the abstainer and
former parish Minister, the Rev. Roderick Macleod, who declared
this "one of the greatest curses that... could befall
it or any other place". However, it wasn't long before
their elixir was commented on more favourably, by no less
a writer than Robert Louis Stevenson. These succinct lines
appear in a poem which might have been subtitled "A Simple
Guide to Malt Whisky" - "The king o'drinks as I
conceive it, Talisker, Isla or Glenlivet" The Scotsman's
Return from Abroad - RL Stevenson 1880.
Stevenson's
words clearly had their own effect. The workforce quickly
grew and Talisker became the successful enterprise, which
it remains to this day. But
not everything ran smoothly during the distillery’s
history. In November 1960, a simple lapse of concentration
led to the leaving open of a valve on the No. 1 spirit still,
which was then still coal-fired.
When
the spirit reached boiling point a disastrous overflow occurred
onto the flames below and the resulting fire burned down the
still-room. The distillery was rebuilt fastidiously around
exact copies of the old stills. Today, its seductive malt
enjoys more adherents than ever before, many of them introduced
to Talisker’s™ charms by its place among the Classic
Malts.
Food suggestion:
Enjoy Talisker™ with smoked salmon, kipper fillets,
grilled smoked mackerel and oysters on the half shell.
Taste style: Complex. A rich dried fruit
sweetness, clouds of smoke, strong barley-malt flavours and
a peppery eruption at the back of the throat. |
Courtesy
of Talisker Distillery |
| TALISKER™
10 YEAR OLD |
TALISKER™
18 YEAR OLD
|
TALISKER™
175th
ANNIVERSARY EDITION |
| |
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A
wonderful award-winning Island malt bottled at above average strength
with a comforting smooth afterglow.
Strength: 45.8% ABV
Appearance: Brilliant gold.
Nose: Peat-smoke with sea-water saltiness, the
liquor of fresh oysters, a citrus sweetness.
Body: Full.
Palate: A rich dried-fruit sweetness with clouds
of smoke and strong barley-malt flavours, warming and intense.
At the back of the mouth is an explosion of pepper.
Finish: Huge, long, peppery finish with an appetising
sweetness.
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The
first regular bottling of an older Talisker™. Time has rounded
not tamed its might.
Strength: 45.8% ABV
Appearance: Amber.
Nose: Rich and fruity – Victoria plums,
greengages, perhaps dried orange peel – with some butterscotch
or rum toffee and a thread of smoke behind. The smoke soon advances
into the foreground and the toffee note is joined by a light mintiness.
With water maritime characteristics emerge – dry boat varnish,
edible seaweed. Still sweet; now with notes of iodine and the
smokiness of an un-struck match.
Body: Full. Pleasant, smooth.
Palate: Sweet in front, then more assertive,
with a whiff of smoke. The development is towards smoke, coal-tar
and toffee.
Finish: Medium length. Talisker’s™
characteristic chilli ‘catch’ in the finish is subtly
present in the aftertaste.
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A
one-off bottling to commemorate Talisker's founding in 1830. A
malt of striking contrasts, this scotch whisky is soft and sweet
at heart, yet austere and impressive.
Strength: 45.8% ABV
Appearance: Light gold.
Body: Medium.
Palate: An immediate sweet flash of coconut soon
becomes medicinal, then starts to smoulder. The smoke ignites
into flame then starts to dry. Water calms this down and out come
the maritime notes, alongside the embers of a now-dead wood fire.
Finish: Becomes increasingly spicy approaching
the big, maritime, robust and lingering finish. When dilute, increasingly
subtle and liquorous, but the smoke still drives through towards
the finish.
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Tasting
Notes Courtesy of Talisker Distillery |
| TALISKER™
12 YEAR DISTILLERS EDITION
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH
|
Like all of
the Classic Malts Selections Distiller's Edition, this Talisker
has been double-matured
in a second cask after the original maturation period (in this
case in an Amoroso Sherry cask). The experience is older, sweeter
and richer than the regular bottlings. This Edition has a very
special bitter-sweet harmony where the peat softens on the palate
to a rich, sweet, juicy fruit finish.
Strength: 45.8% ABV
Appearance: Chestnut brown.
Palate: Crisp peat at first then softens to enormous
richness in the mouth. There's sweet, roasty malt with a heathery
dryness. The sherry notes keep back some of Talisker's usual pepper.
In its place is luscious, slightly oily sweetness - with ripe,
juicy fruit and vanilla.
Finish: Some very deep cocoa notes, vanilla and
lingering quite earthy peat. An enormously chewable single malt,
with sweetness having the edge on dryness.
--Tasting Notes by Talisker |
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TALISKER™
25 YEAR SINGLE MALT SCOTCH
|
Appearance:
Bright
olive gold.
Nose: Nose drying. Seaweed and old oranges, with
smoke in the distance and some chalk.
Surprisingly fruity and juicy, although with clear Talisker identity.
With water almost soapy, a waxy sweetness. Smoke still present,
but now more fragrant.
Body: Firm. Slippery smooth.
Palate: Sweet and meek to start, with some acidity
and saltiness. Extraordinary flavour development. Becomes dry,
stony, minerally, dusty, toasty. Ground white pepper. Chillies.
Finish: Medium to long, slightly bitter, drying
finish. Vegetal.
--Tasting Notes by Talisker |
The
Talisker Distillery
On
the shores of Loch Harport, the village of Carbost is home
to Skye’s only distillery producing a wonderful award-winning
Island malt bottled at above average strength.
Talisker's™ soft, peaty process water is drawn from
twenty-one underground springs that rise from Hawk Hill (Cnoc
nan Speirag) beside the distillery. These same springs have
fed Talisker from the beginning. As its name suggests, the
hill is home to birds of prey, usually including Peregrines.
Today,
20,000 gallons an hour of cooling water from the fast running
Carbost Burn fill a traditional Talisker feature - five wooden
"worm tubs", located outside the still house.
Talisker's
two wash stills, carefully recreated after the 1960 fire,
are unique. The lye pipes leading off from the main neck are
U-shaped, to trap vapours from the first distillation before
they reach the outside worm tubs, whilst a small secondary
copper pipe carries the vapours so trapped back to the wash
stills for a second distillation.
Faithfully
following the original design, it is believed that this double
distillation ensures that all of Talisker’s™ rich,
deep character is captured first time. So there is, indeed,
nothing withdrawn or reserved about Talisker™ - a fact
confirmed for visitors whose first experience before they
take the distillery tour, is a taste of the malt itself.
Talisker™
embodies all the spirit of this rocky, storm-lashed island
and its strong, steadfast people. Skye's only distillery this
may be, but like the men of the island the malt has character
enough for ten.
Visitor Centre Manager: Georgette Crawford
Opening Times
January to Easter
Monday to Friday, tours by appointment only.
Last tour 3.30 pm
Easter to October
Monday to Saturday, 9.30am - 5pm.
Last tour 4.30 pm
November to December
Monday to Friday, tours by appointment only.
Last tour 3.30 pm.
(Closed between Christmas and New Year.)
Admission
Adults: £5.00 / This charge includes a discount voucher
which is redeemable in the distillery shop towards the purchase
of a 750ml bottle of single malt whisky. The distillery shop
at Talisker stocks a wide range of rare and unusual malts.
Admission is free to all Friends of the Classic Malts.
Getting There
Leave the main road to Portree at Sligachan and take the A863
signposted for Dunvegan. After 5 miles, turn left onto the
B8009 to Carbost. Follow the distillery signs along this narrow
road.
Parking
/ Reception
Large car park immediately on the left as you approach
the distillery. The visitor centre is up a flight of stairs
facing the car park.
Groups
Maximium Group Size:16
Contact Us
Talisker Distillery
Carbost Skye
Scotland IV47 8SR
Telephone: +44 (0) 1478 614308
Fax: +44 (0) 1478 614302
E-mail: Talisker
Distillery |
Courtesy
of Talisker Distillery |
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