Talisker
The Talisker Distillery is one of Scotland's best-known distilleries and is spectacularly located on the shores of Loch Harport on the Isle of Skye. Until 2017, it was the only distillery on the island and represents the rugged character of the coast with every drop. As part of the Classic Malts of Scotland, Talisker has achieved worldwide fame. Its Whiskies are influenced by maritime flavours, salty freshness and a characteristic hint of pepper. For lovers of Single Malts with a coastal character, Talisker is an absolute must.
Information about the Distillery | |
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Scotland, Islands | |
-6.356738 57.302331 | |
Active | |
Diageo | |
2 x 10,000 l
Normal
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3 x 7,479 l
Normal
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6 x 50,000 l
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8 t | |
1832 | |
Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill | |
3,000,000 l |
Average tasting notes Tasting notes |
Calculated from 7,076
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Nosing
Peat Smoke:
Maritime Notes:
Seaweed:
Sweet:
Spices:
Fruit:
Salt:
Zitrus:
Sherry:
Malt:
Bonfire Smoke:
Oak:
Pepper:
Vanilla:
Caramel:
Herb:
Orange:
Iodine:
Ham:
Chili:
Berries:
Leather:
Herbs:
Medicinal Smoke:
Lemon:
Dried Fruit:
Honey:
Alcohol:
Plum:
Nuts:
Raisin:
Chocolate:
Heather:
Apple:
Pear:
Banana:
Grape:
Dark Chocolate:
Tobacco:
Walnut:
Oil:
Peach:
Cherry:
Grass:
Nutmeg:
Floral:
Tropical Fruit:
Blackberry:
Date:
Fig:
Grapefruit:
Green Apple:
Cinnamon:
Lemon Peel:
Hay:
Clove:
Wheat:
Lime:
Coffee:
Mint:
Barley:
Hazelnut:
Almonds:
Ginger:
Black Currant:
Cake:
Pineapple:
Coconut:
Red Currant:
Rye:
Strawberry:
Melon:
Anis:
Tasting
Peat Smoke:
Spices:
Sweet:
Maritime Notes:
Pepper:
Chili:
Seaweed:
Fruit:
Salt:
Malt:
Oak:
Sherry:
Zitrus:
Nuts:
Bonfire Smoke:
Caramel:
Oil:
Herb:
Vanilla:
Barley:
Dried Fruit:
Alcohol:
Honey:
Herbs:
Berries:
Ham:
Chocolate:
Lemon:
Orange:
Medicinal Smoke:
Heather:
Iodine:
Dark Chocolate:
Grape:
Plum:
Leather:
Ginger:
Apple:
Pear:
Raisin:
Coffee:
Tobacco:
Cinnamon:
Blackberry:
Lemon Peel:
Fig:
Clove:
Floral:
Date:
Cake:
Peach:
Hazelnut:
Hay:
Grapefruit:
Almonds:
Nutmeg:
Cherry:
Wheat:
Grass:
Black Currant:
Lime:
Mint:
Strawberry:
Banana:
Pineapple:
Walnut:
Green Apple:
Red Currant:
Anis:
Melon:
Rye:
Tropical Fruit:
Finish
Spices:
Peat Smoke:
Pepper:
Sweet:
Chili:
Maritime Notes:
Seaweed:
Oak:
Fruit:
Herb:
Malt:
Sherry:
Salt:
Dark Chocolate:
Bonfire Smoke:
Zitrus:
Nuts:
Chocolate:
Herbs:
Vanilla:
Alcohol:
Ham:
Caramel:
Tobacco:
Oil:
Dried Fruit:
Leather:
Coffee:
Heather:
Honey:
Iodine:
Lemon:
Berries:
Hay:
Ginger:
Cinnamon:
Tropical Fruit:
Clove:
Medicinal Smoke:
Pear:
Green Apple:
Raisin:
Orange:
Grape:
Grapefruit:
Hazelnut:
Nutmeg:
Apple:
Anis:
Lemon Peel:
Mint:
Barley:
Wheat:
Plum:
Grass:
Fig:
Black Currant:
Cherry:
Floral:
Blackberry:
Banana:
Date:
Rye:
Peach:
Strawberry:
Cake:
Almonds:
Lime:
Walnut:
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The Whisky
The Talisker distillery is located between two hills on Skye and looks directly out over the Atlantic - a location that is directly reflected in the flavour of its Whiskies. Under the motto ‘Made by the Sea’, Talisker captures the salty, smoky and slightly peppery character of Scotland's west coast. The core range currently includes 10, 18 and 25-year-old bottlings, as well as the annual Distiller's Edition. The range is complemented by experimental variants such as Talisker Storm, Talisker Skye and Port Ruighe.
Innovative new additions such as The Wild Blue - Atlantic Coastal Wine Casks Finish (2025) demonstrate the creative development of the brand. With this bottling, Talisker is also supporting the marine conservation work of the Blue Marine Foundation. Rarities such as the 30 and 35-year-old Talisker are also still available and coveted collector's items.
The Production
Talisker uses spring water from 21 underground springs at Cnoc nam Speireag - rich in minerals and slightly peaty. The iron-rich, rust-coloured water flows over volcanic basalt rock and gives the Whisky its characteristic minerality.
Despite its remote location, Talisker produces over 3 million litres of alcohol per year. The distillery is one of the few in Scotland that still uses traditional worm tubs - spiral-shaped condensers that are responsible for the strong, oily character of the distillate.
The Pot Stills
Talisker has an unusual still system with two wash stills (14,700 litres each) and three spirit stills (11,000 litres each). In comparison, the wash stills are significantly larger than the spirit stills. They are built very high and have a so-called reflux bowl, which provides an additional reflux effect. The U-shaped Lyne arm is particularly striking, with an additional pipe attached to the end. This directs some of the vapour back into the still, allowing the condensate to be distilled again. This special construction contributes significantly to the intense and spicy character of Talisker New Make.
Until 1928, Talisker still used triple distillation - only then did they switch to the double distillation that is common today, which, in combination with the special stills, characterises the strong, complex style of the house.
Outside, Talisker uses traditional worm tubs - spiral-shaped cooling devices in which the distillate condenses. The rising vapour is passed through copper cooling spirals that are immersed in cold water. There it is converted back into liquid form - the result is the so-called low wines with an alcohol content of around 20 to 25 % vol. In a second distillation process in the spirit stills, the raw distillate is cooled again using worm tubs.
The upper cut point is deliberately set lower at Talisker. This excludes more of the light, volatile components. The result: a robust, oily and peppery-spicy New Make that is unmistakably Talisker.
The Malting
Talisker uses smoky malt with a phenol content of 18-22 ppm - significantly less than Islay Whiskies, but enough for a balanced peat note. The malt comes from Muir of Ord, the barley from the fertile Black Isle.
Talisker operated its own malting floor until 1972. Today, the malt is coarsely milled in a traditional mill. Around 8 tonnes of malt are put into the mash tun with around 60,000 litres of water to start the fermentation process.
Talisker uses smoky malt with a phenol content of 18-22 ppm - significantly less than Islay Whiskies, but enough for a balanced peat note. The malt comes from Muir of Ord, the barley from the fertile Black Isle.
Talisker operated its own malting floor until 1972. Today, the malt is coarsely milled in a traditional mill. Around 8 tonnes of malt are put into the mash tun with around 60,000 litres of water to start the fermentation process.
The Fermentation
Fermentation takes place traditionally in eight wooden wash backs, in each of which 38,000 litres of wort are fermented for 72 hours. This long fermentation time promotes fruity, citrus-like flavours that give the distillate a fresh note.
The Warehouses
The original warehouses were located directly by the sea and had space for around 6,800 casks. They were relocated as part of the expansion of the visitor centre - today the Whisky is matured at other locations in Scotland.
Talisker uses a mixture of ex-bourbon casks, European oak and Amoroso sherry casks. The Distiller's Edition, for example, is matured in Amoroso casks, while the classic 10-year-old is stored in ex-bourbon casks.
The History
The history of the Talisker Distillery begins in 1830 on the rugged Isle of Skye - an island that is still known today for its wild beauty and stormy coasts. At that time, Skye was already home to several small distilleries, some legal, some illegal. But only one was to establish itself permanently: Talisker.
The distillery was founded by brothers Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill, sons of a local doctor. They had the vision of producing high-quality Whisky on an industrial scale - a rarity for such a remote region. After purchasing the Carbost estate on Loch Harport, they negotiated with the MacLeod clan, who owned the land. The lease agreement stipulated that the clan would receive a cask of Whisky each year - a symbolic agreement that still emphasises the close connection between Talisker and Skye today.
The distillery was completed in 1831. After Kenneth's death in 1854, Donald MacLennan took over the lease. However, he lacked the commercial skills and went bankrupt in 1863. In a last-ditch attempt to save the distillery, he suggested John Anderson, a Whisky merchant from Glasgow, as the new operator. The Bank of Scotland agreed, and in 1867 Anderson & Co. took over the management - but only for a short time: in 1879 Anderson was sentenced to prison for fraud (he sold casks that did not even exist).
In 1880, Talisker went to Alexander Grigor Allen and Roderick Kemp, the latter of whom later joined Macallan. After Kemp's departure, the Talisker Distillery Company was founded in 1894, which merged with Dailuaine-Glenlivet Distillers and Imperial Distillers in 1898 to form Dailuaine-Talisker Distillers.
A new chapter began in 1916: an influential group consisting of John Walker & Sons, John Dewar & Sons, W. P. Lowrie and the Distillers Company Ltd (DCL) took over Talisker. From 1930, Scottish Malt Distillers (SMD) took over the management. Despite increasing industrialisation, production was never automated - a sign of the appreciation of traditional craftsmanship.
On 22 November 1960, a major fire shook the distillery. The fire destroyed large parts of the plant, including all five stills. Instead of modernising, it was decided to have the old stills rebuilt one-to-one in order to preserve their original character. Two years later, in 1962, the distillery was able to reopen.
A decisive milestone was reached in 1988: Talisker became part of the Classic Malts of Scotland launched by United Distillers - a selection of outstanding single malts that received international attention. The inclusion of this iconic island distillery catapulted Talisker into the focus of Whisky enthusiasts worldwide. This was accompanied by new bottlings such as the Talisker 18-year-old, the 25-year-old and limited special editions.
Over the years, the distillery has been continuously modernised without losing its traditional character. Today, Talisker is part of the global drinks group Diageo, which successfully carries on the values and quality of the distillery.
Despite all economic developments, Talisker has always remained the epitome of Scottish distilling tradition - firmly anchored on the Isle of Skye and at the same time open to innovation. The eventful history of Talisker reflects not only the development of a distillery, but also the transformation of the entire Scotch Whisky industry over almost two centuries.
The Visitor Centre
Despite its remote location, Talisker is Diageo's most visited distillery. The journey there is an experience in itself - spectacular landscapes, wild coastlines and the atmosphere of the island make the visit unforgettable.
The modern Visitor Centre was reopened in 2022 and offers guided tours, two bars and a well-stocked shop. Visitors can choose between various tasting experiences - such as the ‘Made by the Sea’ tasting experience or the ‘Cask Draw & Tasting’.
Distillery Address:
The Talisker Distillery
Carbost
Isle of Skye IV47 8SR
Tel: +44 (0)1478-614308
E-Mail: talisker@ diageo.com
User Notes about the Distillery
Share your experience with other whisky lovers. Write a note about your trip to the Talisker distillery.
funny thing, almost to the date, when the above Pictures where taken, my girlfrind and I where at Talisker destillery, as part of a round trip to Scotland, celebrating my 50th birthday.
It was a great visit to Talisker and well worth visiting. They have a guided tour through the distilliry. A Word of warning though, if your English is not your "second" language as it is for me and most of my Fellow danes, you will have to be on your toes. The guide we had was a sweet Young girl with a scottish accent so thick, you could cut it with a knife :-)
At the end of the tour there is a tasting venue. I and they have a substantial gift and whisky shop. As with most of distillries your best of buying your Talisker at your local whisky shop. Though keep an eye out for those special on location only whiskies.
When you have finished the tour, or before you visit the distilery, walk or drive around the distiliry up the road. If you like oysters there is a Little place located in a barn selling fish and fresh cought oysters from around the bay at the end of the road.
Stig (Denmark)