Talisker Distillery | The King Of Drinks

How To Pronounce Talisker

Where is Talisker Distillery

A car is by far the easiest way of getting to Talisker Distillery, which is located in the town of Carbost, on the Isle of Skye, north-west Scotland (57.302107, -6.353981), roughly 30 minutes drive from Portree, or 50 minutes from Kyle of Lochalsh.

Please note, Talisker Distillery is not in the region of Talisker - make sure you enter ‘Talisker Distillery’ and NOT simply ‘Talisker’ into your navigation system, like we did the first time, or you’ll end up 4 or 5 miles out of the way.

If bus is your only option, the 608 from Portree to Fiskavaig stops at Talisker Distillery but is not a feasible option on weekends and has a varied timetable throughout the week.

Taxis and private cars are another option good option if you can't/don't want to drive yourself, such as Skye Magical Tours.

One Day Portree - Skye Tour

Tour Skye have a one-day tour from Portree that stops at the Talisker Distillery Visitor Centre for a tasting (does not allow time for a tour) in addition to visiting the other main attractions on Skye, such as the Fairy Pools, Old Man of Storr and Quiraing.

Talisker Distillery Tours and Bookings

Talisker Distillery Visitor Centre is open 7 days a week (Monday to Sunday) from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm March to October, and from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm November to February. Note: during winter months the distillery may have to close at short notice due to poor weather conditions.

Talisker Distillery Tour

An expertly guided one hour tour of Talisker Distillery plus a tasting of three (3) drams of Talisker whisky. Children 8 years old and over are permitted on the Talisker Distillery Tour if accompanied by a paying adult. Adult tickets (18+) are £20 per person, and children aged 8 - 17 years are £10 per person (children under 8 are not permitted on distillery tours). Tours are generally at 11:30 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm daily. Online advanced bookings are highly recommended as Talisker is a very popular destination for visitors to Skye (especially if it's raining!) and they're often booked up weeks in advance.

Talisker Made By The Sea Tasting Experience (no tour)

A tasting of three (3) drams of Talisker whisky in the Distillery's brand new highly immersive tasting room where you will learn about the history of Talisker Distillery and how their maritime location on Skye contributes to their whisky. Children 8 years old and over are permitted to accompany their parents at this tasting (but not join the tasting obviously). Adult tickets (18+) are £15 per person, and children aged 8 - 17 years are £7.50 per person (children under 8 are not permitted). The tasting and educational experience is highly immersive and uses a combination of light, media, music, sensory moments and special effects that may not be suitable for all audiences. Approximately 30 minutes duration, tastings are generally at 11:00 am daily. Online advanced bookings are highly recommended. Maximum 22 persons per tasting.

Cask Draw and Tasting Experience (no tour)

A premium tasting experience for Talisker Enthusiasts - this 90 minute tutored tasting session will see you sample five (5) Talisker whiskies straight from the cask. An adults only experience (18+), tickets are £150 per person. Tours are generally at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm daily. Online advanced bookings are highly recommended. Wednesdays only at 2.30 pm during winter (Nov to Feb) but daily at 3:00 pm from March to October. Maximum 18 persons per tasting.

Useful Visitor Information

Talisker Distillery Accessibility

Talisker is a relatively accessible distillery (see their Euan's Guide profile) - there is ground level wheelchair accessible entry to the Visitor's Centre and Shop, and a platform lift is available to access the main part of the production areas of the distillery on tours. There are also accessible bathrooms, parking spaces, and carer discounts are available. Telephone Talisker on 01478 614308 or Email talisker@malts.com for more information.

What Other Distilleries Are Near Talisker

While there were initially seven registered distilleries on Skye, Talisker is the only original distillery still operating. Talisker's new neighbours include:

Talisker Whisky

Talisker Distillery Images

Worm Tubs and Kinky Wash Stills

The wash stills at Talisker are unusual, in that the lyne arm (pipe leading from the top of the still) is ‘swan-necked’, with 90 deg turns forming inverse U shapes. The wash still lyne arms bend before entering the wall, and then again outside before entering the worm tubs (see pictures below). Furthermore, at the point where the lyne arm goes into the wall, a purifier pipe returns some of the spirit vapour back to the bulbous wash still for redistillation.

The combination of bulbous wash stills (lots of reflux/greater copper contact/purity) and lyne arm kinks (increased copper contact) would usually result in a ‘light’ spirit. However, Talisker’s continued use of worm-tubs (versus more modern shell and tube condensers) means less exposure overall to copper, than many other distilleries. Therefore, much of the sulphur remains, resulting in the ‘heavy’, peppery, slightly sulphurous characteristics for which Talisker is known.

An Odd Ratio

Talisker Distillery has three Spirit/Low Wines stills, yet only two Wash Stills. Most distilleries have a 1:1 ratio Spirit Stills to Wash Stills. In his visit to Talisker in 1887, Alfred Barnard noted that there were three stills, which makes sense, as Talisker was triple distilled until 1928.  For some reason, even with extensive upgrades and refurbishments since then, the number of stills continues to remain ‘odd’.

In 1960 a Stillman accidentally left one of the Spirit Still covers off. As the still began to heat up, it spewed its flammable contents out through the opening and onto the flaming coals below. Consequently, a fire erupted and ripped through the still house, destroying the stills, though surprisingly the worm tubs were undamaged. The stills were rebuilt again using coal fire as the heat source, but in 1972 this was upgraded to internal steam coil heating.  Also in 1972, the malt floors were demolished and the malted barley acquired from Glen Ord, as it is today.

Accommodation On Skye

The widest range of accommodation options on the Isle of Skye is in the town of Portree / Port Righ, otherwise the next biggest town is on the mainland - Kyle of Lochalsh.

The wee town of Plockton is also a lovely spot to find somewhere to stay, though more limited on options as it is rather tiny (and popular, as it was the filming location of the Hamish Macbeth TV series).

Organised Tours to the Isle of Skye from Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow

Talisker Distillery History

Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill founded Talisker Distillery in 1830. They took the lease on Talisker House and farmland, owned by the head of Clan MacLeod, John MacLeod of Dunvegan Castle, and set up the distillery to diversify their income. Hugh MacAskill worked as a ‘tacksman’ through the 1820’s and 30’s for Laird MacLeod – collecting rents and clearing the land of the families that comprised the tiny scattered townships and small farm holdings.

Clearance and Temperance

Like Clynelish, Talisker is a clearance distillery – sheep farming and whisky were far more profitable than the taxes collected off the human inhabitants. Once evicted, the crofters (small farm renters) were expected to move into the newly formed townships of Carbost and Portnalog, else leave Skye, and in some cases, leave Scotland altogether. Some were able to find work in the new distillery, but those that remained mostly did so in poverty

Clearance activities aside, the MacAskill’s distillery initially had a strong local market, and Talisker whisky developed an excellent reputation. Talisker was a favourite tipple of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, which he immortalised in the poem The Scotsman’s Return from Abroad – “The king o’ drinks, as I conceive it, Talisker, Isla, or Glenlivet!”

The MacAskill’s prowess as farmers and distillers aided them through many years of poor weather and bad harvests. However, farming and distilling expertise was of no help as the Temperance Movement took off, and the consumption of spirits in Scotland fell. By 1848 the distillery had been seized by the North of Scotland Bank.

Fraud and Frustration

Donald MacLennan took on the lease in 1857, but he was bankrupt by 1863. Anderson & Co took control in 1867, but Mr Anderson was found guilty of fraud in 1879. He’d advised merchants that their whisky was in bonded storage when it wasn’t.

Alexander Grigor Allan and Roderick Kemp & Co. acquired Talisker in 1880 and commenced the petitioning of their landlord for the construction of a pier. One of the biggest difficulties for the distillery was (and likely still is) its remote location, which was made worse by the grave difficulty in accessing it. There was no pier until 1900. The landlord, then Norman MacLeod of Dunvegan, refused to build one, so the casks had to be floated 300-400 yards out to ships in Loch Harport.  Likewise, any supplies such as barley or fresh casks towed in.

The refusal to build a pier put many lives and the cargo at risk, as the boats would often arrive at night, and in stormy seas. It was a great source of frustration to the new owners, to the point where Kemp sold his share of the business to Allan in 1892 and went off to buy Macallan Distillery.

In 1894 Allan formed the Talisker Distillery Company, which subsequently merged with Dailuaine-Glenlivet Distillers and Imperial Distillers.  They would form Daluaine-Talisker in 1898.

A New Century and a New Beginning

Talisker Distillery was now in the hands of Thomas Mackenzie who had successfully overseen the enlargement of Dailuaine.  In 1900 he proceeded to upgrade Talisker, building the pier, a connecting tramway to the distillery and distillery workers houses. Notably, Laird Norman MacLeod had died in 1895 – the works approved under the lordship of his son Norman Magnus MacLeod.

Thomas Mackenzie died in 1915, which coincided with a decline in the overall whisky trade, fixed pricing on blended whisky, and World War 1.  These trying times lead to the merger of many smaller distilleries trying to pool resources to stay alive. In 1916 a consortium of distilleries including John Dewar & Sons Ltd, DCL, and John Walker & Sons Ltd purchased Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries.

In 1925 Talisker Distillery was brought fully under the DCL fold as a wholly owned subsidiary. 1925-1928 also saw a significant process change at Talisker, in that they moved from Triple to Double distillation.

DCL would eventually go on to form Diageo, the current owners of Talisker Distillery.

References & Further Reading