Buy rare and selected Talisker Isly of Skye Single Malt Scotch Whisky online

The Talisker distillery is the only whisky distillery on the Isle of Skye, west of the Scottish Highlands, and was established in 1831 - a year after it was founded elsewhere - by the brothers Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill near Loch Harport, in the shadow of the Cuillin Hills, in the small village of Carbost on the shores of Loch Harport. The name is derived from the Talisker House estate, which lies a few miles to the west in the mountains. After the death of the brothers, Donald MacLennan took over the distillery, but because he was not a good businessman, he went bankrupt after a few months.
J. R. W. Anderson then took over the distillery, but he suffered the same fate and was imprisoned for fraud in 1880. He had allegedly sold whisky that was still in stock but was not actually there. However, this did not damage the reputation of Talisker itself. Robert Louis Stevenson counted Talisker among the king o drinks in a poem.
The next owners were more successful. Alexander Grigor Allan, a financial manager from Morayshire, and Roderick Kemp, a wine and spirits merchant from Aberdeen, rebuilt the distillery until it was producing 40,000 gallons a year. In 1892, Allan became the sole owner. After his death, the administrators founded the Talisker Distillery Co LTD, which shortly afterwards merged with the Dailuaine distillery to form Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries LTD. After several changes of ownership in the course of its history, Talisker is now part of the Diageo spirits group. It was one of the six distilleries selected as Classic Malts of Scotland in 1988, which significantly raised its profile.
For many years, the whisky casks had to be rowed by boat to the merchant ships at anchor and it was not until 1900 that a pier was added to the distillery, allowing ships to dock at any water level. A light railroad was also built to connect the production facilities and houses were built for the employees. In 1916, after the death of manager Thomas MacKenzie, a consortium including John Walker and Sons took over the majority of the shares. The D.C.L. (Distillers Company Ltd.) was formed from this consortium in 1925. In 1928, the distillery changed the production process from three distillations to the two distillations still used today.
In November 1960, the production facility was destroyed by fire. Due to carelessness, one of the valves on spirit still number 1 was left open before the distillation process began. As the stills were still heated with coal at the time, the overflowing distillate ignited and set the building on fire. In 1962, the distillery was rebuilt true to the original in order to retain the original taste of the whisky. Until 1972, the distillery still had its own malting plant, but since then, like most Scottish distilleries, it has sourced its malt from external producers (including the Glen Ord malting plant).
Talisker is a double-distilled single malt whisky. The distillery has five stills: two wash stills (14,706 liters each) and three spirit stills (11,024 liters each). Condensing coils are still used instead of modern condensers. These supposedly ensure a fuller taste. The heating of the stills has recently been switched from direct coal firing to heating with steam, which is produced in an adjacent house by oil firing, and the risk of fire has been considerably reduced by avoiding open fires in the stillhouse itself.
The malt used for the whisky is extremely peaty and the phenol content is relatively high at 18-25 ppm. The water used for production comes from 14 different sources and also flows over peat, which further intensifies the flavor. Today, the distillery belongs to the Diageo spirits group (formerly United Distillers) and the whisky is marketed as part of the group s Classic Malts range.
Talisker is a distillery with its very own character and the Talisker whiskies are characterized by a lot of pepper paired with almost explosive taste development on the palate and its unique maritime character and the slogan Made by the Sea reflects the most important special feature - the location directly on the coast of the Isle of Skye. The maritime influence is clearly noticeable in the flavor profile and shows the unique character of the Isle of Skye. A trademark of Talisker is a distinct peppery note, often referred to as a chilli catch, which is particularly noticeable in the finish and makes the whisky very recognizable. The smoke is present, but not as dominant as in many Islay whiskies. It often has a maritime character reminiscent of campfires.
Talisker is a distinctive single malt whisky defined by its Isle of Skye origins, its maritime character, the present but not overpowering smoke and its unique peppery note. Whisky tasters have always used superlatives to describe the taste of Talisker whisky. Today, the rare bottlings from the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s are particularly sought after by connoisseurs and collectors.