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Inverness, United Kingdom
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Temp:
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50°F
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46°F
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Humidity:
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82%
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Malt Whisky Distilleries
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Talisker Distillery
IV47 8SR
Carbost
Isle of Skye
Scotland
Phone: +44 (0) 1478 614308
Fax: +44 (0) 1478 614302
Website
The white buildings and twin
pagoda-heads of Talisker distillery sits in a huddle on the green shore just by
the water of Loch Harport in Carbost. Back in time it was practically cut off
from the rest of the Isle of Skye by the ridge
of the black mountains called Cuillin Hills; it even had its own coins which
the workers could ‘spend’ for food and other necessities.
Due to a fire in the stillhouse in 1960 only the
manager’s house, offices and warehouses remains from the old distillery. It is
belevied spirit trickled out of a still through a brass valve onto a coal fire
below. Two years later exact copies of the five stills were once again
producing the unique flavour of Talisker. This time however the stills were
fitted with internal steam coils. A unique feature at Talisker are the lyne
arms that soar in a giant U-bend before they plunge into the wooden worm tubs
of cold water, resulting in a purer spirit. In the mid-seventies Talisker began
to buy their malt from central maltsters. Some of the whisky goes into blends
like the Johnnie Walker and White Horse. The official single malt bottlings
include the 10 year-old single malt in the ‘Six Classic Malts’ collection from
Diageo.
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Information about the tour at Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery
Tour in short: A very nice tour. The airy setting, sea view and well-ordered distillery makes a visit well worth the trip. A clear day the trip itself out to Talisker is spectacular (even on a rainy day its nice). The tour itself is logical and interesting, showing the whiskie's steps from ingredient, through the loveley stills to the bottle in the shop.
Information for visiting Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery
Travel Directions: Leave the main road to Portree at Sligachan and take the A863 signposted for Dunvegan. After 5 miles turn left on to the B8009 to Carbost. In Carbost follow the distillery signs.
Opening Hours: January to Easter: Monday to Friday, tours by appointment only. Last tour 3.30 pm. Easter to October. Monday to Saturday, 9.30am Š 5pm. Last tour 4.30 pm.
Tour Times: About every 20 mins. Last tour at 4.30 pm.
Price admission: £5.00. Includes a discount voucher which is redeemable in the distillery shop towards the purchase of a 70cl bottle of single malt whisky. Children free (under 8 years not permitted in production areas).
Shop: Yes, with the Classic Malts Range. Accessories. The distillery shop at Talisker stocks a wide range of rare and unusual malts.
Restaurant: No. Shoreside picnic area.
Parking: Free parking in front of distillery.
Groups: By appointement. Coaches by appointement.
Photography in distillery: No.
Foreign visitor support: Leaflets in Swedish, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese.
Disabled access: Ok to warehouse, stillroom and shop.
Off season opening hours: November to December: Monday to Friday, tours by appointment only. Last tour 3.30 pm. (Closed between Christmas and New Year.)
Things of interest regarding Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery
Restaurants nearby:
Things of interest: Take a trip over the island to where the MacAskill brothers from
Isle of Eigg founded Talisker as a farm distillery on their estate Talisker House,
marked on the map a few miles over on the west coast of the island.
Bed & breakfast and hotels nearby:
The whisky from Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery
Tasting notes: Talisker (10 yo 45.8%) Smoky with
notes of kelp, salt, sweet dried fruits and spices.
The production at Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery
Malt and malting: Peated (25 ppm) from Glen Ord Maltings.
Distilling and the stills: Washstills: 2,
10.000 litres. Spiritstills: 3, 7.500
litres, steamheated with upright lyne arms. 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.
Watersource: Underground springs in Hawk
Hill, peaty. 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.
Barrels and casks: Bourbon and sherry.
Bond and Warehousing: 3 traditional warehouses on site.
Mashing and fermentation: Mashtun: 1, cast iron, 8 tons. Washbacks: 6, wood, 37.000 litres.
Distillery manager: Charlie Smith.
Owner: Diageo.
The history of Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery
History of the distillery: The MacAskill brothers from
Isle of Eigg founded Talisker as a farm distillery on their estate Talisker House,
marked on the map a few miles over on the west coast of the island. The times
were hard for the islanders; some lived on collecting seaweed to turn into
soap, others on crofting; the poor soil made it impossible to cultivate barley
in quantity. Many landlords at the time, cleared crofters off their land to
replace them with sheep, thus many islanders migrated to North
America. Whisky was dispatched and barley delivered by sea on
“Puffers” to the seven licensed distilleries on the island, not to mention the dozens
of illicit stills. In 1831 the MacAskill brothers built a new distillery in its
current location. In 1863 the distillery was transferred to Donald MacLennan, a
son in law, who was declared bankrupt within a few months. The next
leaseholder, J R W Anderson, was not only bankrupt but imprisoned in 1880, for
accepting payment for whisky he could not deliver. The new owners Roderick Kemp
and Alexander Grigor Allan (co-owner of Glenlossie) proved men of substance;
they rebuilt and turned the distillery around. A few years later Allan bought
the shares of Kemp, who founded the Macallan distillery. In 1895 the lease was
taken over by the Talisker Distillery Co LTD and in 1898, the company merged
with the Dailuaine Distillery to form Dailuaine - Talisker Distilleries LTD, later
acquired by DCL, today part of Diageo.
Read more about Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery in these books:
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