Talisker Distillery

Talisker’s story

Talisker is the oldest whisky distillery on the island of Skye, which lies off the west Highland coast of Scotland. For over a century it was the only one on the island until Torabhaig was founded in 2016. The distillery can be found on Skye’s remote and rugged western coast. Talisker lies on the shores of Loch Harport, a large narrow sea loch, close to the hamlet of Carbost and the edge of the imposing Cuillin Hills.

Talisker is one of the biggest growing single malt whiskies for world sales, following a huge promotional push over the last two decades by owners Diageo. The brand sits comfortably within the Top 10 best sellers list and sells over 3 million bottles per year. The whisky is famous for its unique fiery and peppery smoky flavour and wins awards around the globe. Talisker can also be found in a number of blended whiskies, adding its fiery and peaty character to such products as the Johnnie Walker range, Isle of Skye, Poit Dhubh (pronounced posh–doo) and Te Bheag (pronounced che–beg).

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Talisker’s history

The Talisker distillery rose like a phoenix from the ashes of a devastated Hebridean whisky industry in 1830. Until the early 1820s, there had been several distilleries operating on the island. The combination of a clamp down on illegal distilleries by the authorities and the remoteness of some of the sites proved fatal. Two brothers, Hugh and Archie Macaskill, decided to move to Skye from the isle of Eigg and convert Talisker House and its surrounding buildings into a legal distillery.

The distillery struggled for years until it was rescued by Roderick Kemp and Alexander Allan in 1881. They saw the potential for Talisker in the blending market and refitted and expanded the distillery. This helped to re–establish the name within the industry and Talisker thrived until Kemp left in 1892 to go and buy the Macallan distillery in Speyside. Allan decided to take the opportunity and merge Talisker with his other distillery and form a new company. This distillery was Dailuaine (also in Speyside), which was the largest whisky producer in Scotland at that time. Much of the whisky produced at Talisker and Dailuaine was used to fulfil the blending contracts of Allan’s company.

This continued to be the distillery’s primary function until it was forced to close in 1960 after it being gutted by a fire. Talisker was rebuilt and continued to go from strength to strength. The current owners, Diageo, added a visitor centre. This was revamped in 2022 and is one of the most visited distilleries in Scotland, despite its difficult and remote location. They receive over 70,000 visitors per year.

• How to pronounce Talisker? tal-iss-kur
• Country: Scotland
• Region: Islands – Skye
• Founded: 1830
• Current owners: Diageo
• Production capacity per year: 3.5 million litres
• Mash tun: 8 ton stainless steel
• Washbacks: 8
• Stills: 5
• Visitor centre: Yes

Talisker Distillery
Carbost
Isle of Skye
IV47 8SR
tel – +44(0)1478 614308
www.malts.com/talisker

Did you know?

Talisker used to have its own Customs & Excise officer, due to the remoteness of Skye. A house and office were constructed next to the distillery for the officer to live and work in