Editing Talisker distillery

{{short description|Island Single Malt Scotch whisky}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox Scottish Distillery
| Name        = Talisker distillery
| Type        = Island
| Image       = Talisker Destillery in Carbost 2012.JPG
| Image size  = 300
| Caption     = 
| Location    = Carbost, Isle of Skye
| Owner       = [[Diageo]]
| Founded     = 1830
| Status      = Active
| Source      = Carbost / Cnoc nan Speireag (Hawk Hill)
| Stills      = 2 wash stills (10,000 L)<br />3 spirit stills (7,479 L)
| Capacity    =2,600,000 L 
| Brand 1     = Talisker
| Type 1      = 
| Age 1       = 10 Years<br />18 Years<br />25 Years<br />30 Years<br />35 Years
| Cask 1      = 
| ABV 1       = 
|image=Talisker distillery.jpg}}

'''Talisker distillery''' is an [[Island single malt|island single malt Scotch]] whisky [[distillery]] based in [[Carbost, Loch Harport|Carbost]], [[Scotland]] on the [[Minginish]] Peninsula on the [[Isle of Skye]].

The distillery is operated by [[Diageo]] and Taliskers’ 10 year old whisky has been nominated as part of their ''[[Classic Malts of Scotland|Classic Malts]]'' series. Whiskies attributed to the Talisker brand have been praised by whisky commentators such as Jim Murray.<ref>Murray. Jim, accessed 06 May, 2023, Whisky Magazine, https://whiskymag.com/taste-bottling/talisker-10-years-old-637068353240602928</ref>

In 1830 Hugh MacAskill leased the site from the MacLeods, having raised £3,000 and built the distillery. He chose to name it after his estate, [[Talisker]] (some 5 miles west), rather than the village in which it was located.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

==History==
After a number of false starts, the distillery was founded in 1830 by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill. It opened at Carbost in 1831 after they acquired the lease of [[Talisker, Skye|Talisker House]] from [[Clan MacLeod]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.isleofskye.com/skye-guide/history/macleods-of-dunvegan|title=MacLeods of Dunvegan &#124; History &#124; Isle of Skye|website=www.isleofskye.com}}</ref> In 1879, it was purchased for £1,810 ({{Inflation|UK|1810|1879|r=-2|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} by a firm which became known as R. Kemp & Co. when it had a production capacity of 700 gallons per week.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Talisker Distillery | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002658/18790531/058/0004 |newspaper=Huntly Express |location=Scotland  |date=31 May 1879 |access-date=3 July 2022 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> The principal partner was A.G. Allan, Procurator-Fiscal for Elginshire. The other partner was Roderick Kemp, wine merchant of Elgin.<ref name=DC1894>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Talisker Distillery | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000269/18941208/038/0004 |newspaper=Dundee Courier |location=Scotland  |date=8 December 1894 |access-date=3 July 2022 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref>

The distillery was rebuilt 1880–87 and extended in 1900. A new lease for the distillery was negotiated in 1892 with the chief of Clan MacLeod for an annual payment of £23.12s ({{Inflation|UK|23.6|1892|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} and a ten-gallon cask of best-quality Talisker. By 1894 the output was up to 2,000 gallons per week.<ref name=DC1894/> In 1895 the business was converted into a limited liability company with Thomas Mackenzie as managing partner, but the shares were not offered to the public.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Talisker Distillery | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002683/18950117/085/0006 |newspaper=North British Mail |location=Scotland  |date=17 January 1895 |access-date=3 July 2022 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref>

Talisker was acquired by the Distillers Company in 1925. On 12 August 1948 a fire broke out in the store of the distillery. No whisky was destroyed, but grain in store and over 100 empty barrels were lost.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Skye Distillery Fire | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19480813/099/0003 |newspaper=The Scotsman |location=Scotland  |date=13 August 1948 |access-date=3 July 2022 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref>

The distillery was rebuilt again in 1960 after a stillhouse fire completely destroyed the distillery. The distillery operates five [[still]]s; two wash stills and three spirit stills. All the stills use worm tubs (condensing coils) rather than a modern condenser, which are believed to give the whisky a "fuller" flavour (itself an indication of higher sugar content). During this early period, the whisky was produced using a triple [[distill]]ing method, but changed to the more conventional double distilling in 1928. After the 1960 fire, five exact replicas of the original stills were constructed to preserve the original Talisker flavour. In 1972 the stills were converted to steam heating and the maltings floor was demolished. 

DLC was renamed as [[United Distillers]] in 1987.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Guinness / Distillers Saga: The Aftermath |url=https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/features/8991/the-guinness-distillers-saga-the-aftermath/ |access-date=15 July 2020 |publisher=Scottish Whisky Magazine}}</ref> In 1998 United Distillers was merged with [[International Distillers & Vintners]] to create United Distillers & Vintners, forming the spirits division of [[Diageo]] plc.<ref name="cc">{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20120121142345/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1983/fulltext/174c06.pdf Competition Commission Report 1983]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=DIAGEO SCOTLAND LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC000750}}</ref>

==Production==
Talisker's water comes from springs directly above the distillery via a network of pipes and wells.

The malted barley used in production comes from Muir of Ord. Talisker has an unusual feature—swan neck lye pipes. A loop in the pipes takes the vapour from the stills to the worm tubs, which causes some of the alcohol to condense before it reaches the cooler. It then runs back into the stills and is distilled again. Talisker now has an annual output of three and a half million litres of spirit.

The spirit is most frequently matured in American oak casks. The [[malt]] is peated to a [[phenol]] level of approximately 18–22 parts per million (ppm), which is a medium peating level. Additionally, the water used for production, from Cnoc nan Speireag (Hawk Hill), flows over peat which adds additional complexity to the whisky.

The distillery began producing special bottlings of the whisky for connoisseurs in the early 2000s, with a 20- and 25-year bottling (where previously only a 10-year and 18-year were available). The 25-year bottling, despite being more expensive than the 20-year bottling, was distributed more widely.

In 2007 Talisker 18-year-old won "Best Single Malt In The World 2007" at the World Whiskies Awards.<ref name="World Whiskies Awards 2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.whiskymag.com/awards/wwa/2007/#singlemalt|title=World Whiskies Awards 2007|access-date=2012-10-20|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623082057/http://www.whiskymag.com/awards/wwa/2007/#singlemalt|archive-date=2012-06-23}}</ref> and in 2015 Talisker 10 Year Old won a Double Gold Medal and "Best Single Malt Scotch up to 12 years" in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Talisker was the favourite whisky of writers [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] and [[Henry Vollam Morton|HV Morton]]. In his poem "The Scotsman's Return From Abroad", Stevenson mentioned "The king o' drinks, as I conceive it, Talisker, [[Islay whisky|Islay]], or [[The Glenlivet|Glenlivet]]."

==Bottlings==
[[File:In der Schatzkammer von Talisker.JPG|thumb|right|A look into the treasury with barrels, aged more than 35 years]]
* Talisker 10 Year Old
* Talisker Skye
* Talisker Storm
* Talisker Dark Storm
* Talisker 18 year Old (limited annual run)
* Talisker 25 year Old (limited annual run)
* Talisker 30 year Old (limited annual run)
* Talisker Distiller's edition 
* Talisker 57° North
* Talisker Port Ruighe
* Talisker Neist Point
* Talisker 8 Year Old Cask Strength (periodic release)
* Talisker Wilder Seas (limited edition in cooperation with [[Parley for the Oceans|parley for the oceans]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=TALISKER LAUNCHES NEW LIMITED EDITION WHISKY IN ITS FIRST 100% RECYCLED GLASS BOTTLE |url=https://www.thewhiskybusiness.com/2023/05/talisker-launches-new-limited-edition.html |access-date=2023-05-04 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-04 |title=Talisker und Parley for the Oceans veröffentlichen Talisker Wilder Seas • CaptainScotch.de |url=https://captainscotch.de/news/talisker-wilder-seas-launch/ |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=CaptainScotch.de |language=de-DE}}</ref>
* Talisker The Wild Explorador (limited diageo special release 2023)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-19 |title="Spirited Xchange": Infos zu Diageo Special Releases 2023 veröffentlicht • CaptainScotch.de |url=https://captainscotch.de/news/diageo-special-releases-2023-spirited-xchange-launch/ |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=CaptainScotch.de |language=de-DE}}</ref>

==Reviews and accolades==
Talisker whiskies have generally performed very well at international [[Spirit ratings]] competitions and have won some acclaim from liquor review organizations.  The 10-, 18-, 25- and 30-year Taliskers have been awarded mostly gold medals from the [[San Francisco World Spirits Competition]].<ref name="Proof66.com Talisker Page">{{cite web|url=http://www.proof66.com/whiskey/talisker-18yr-single-malt-scotch.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707085325/http://www.proof66.com/whiskey/talisker-18yr-single-malt-scotch.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-07-07|title=Proof66.com Talisker Page|access-date=2012-10-17}}</ref>  The 10- and 18-year varieties, meanwhile, have received scores of 85-89 and 90-95 from [[Wine Enthusiast]].<ref name="Proof66.com Talisker Page"/>  Spirits ratings aggregator proof66.com, which averages scores from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Wine Enthusiast, and others, classifies Talisker's 10-year scotch in its highest ("Tier 1") performance category.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.proof66.com/whiskey/talisker-10yr-scotch.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707085325/https://www.proof66.com/whiskey/talisker-10yr-scotch.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-07-07|title=Proof66.com Talisker Page|access-date=2012-10-17}}</ref>

Talisker Distiller's Edition won Best Islands Single Malt at the 2013 [[World Whiskies Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whiskymag.com/awards/wwa/2013/|title=Talisker Distiller's Edition wins Best Islands Single Malt|access-date=2013-05-10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512011249/http://www.whiskymag.com/awards/wwa/2013/|archive-date=2013-05-12}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Liquor}}
* [[List of whisky brands]]
* [[List of distilleries in Scotland]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

'''General'''
* {{cite book | author=Stephan Gabányi | title=Whisk(e)y | publisher =Abbeville Press, Inc.| year=1997 | isbn=0-7892-0383-9 }}
* {{cite book | author=James F. Harris & Mark H. Waymack| title=Single-malt whiskies of Scotland | publisher =Open Court Publishing Company | year=1992 | isbn=0-8126-9213-6 }}
* {{cite book | author=Michael Jackson  | title=Michael Jackson's complete guide to Single Malt Scotch, fourth edition | publisher =Running Press Book Publishers | year=1999 | isbn=0-7624-0731-X }}
* {{cite book | author=Jim Murray | title=The world whiskey guide | publisher =Carlton Books Limited | year=2000 | isbn=1-84222-006-3 }}
*[http://www.whiskipedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Talisker@Whiskypedia]
*[http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mikehall/archive/2006/09/19/763146.aspx CE 6.0 - why the codename "Yamazaki" ?], Mike Hall, Microsoft Development Network, 20 Sep 2006.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Official website|https://www.malts.com/en-us/distilleries/talisker/}}
* [http://drwhisky.blogspot.com/search/label/talisker Dr. Whisky] on Talisker
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091227102902/http://www.maltmadness.com/whisky/talisker.html Johannes van der Heuvel (Malt Madness/Malt Maniacs blog)]}} on Talisker
* [https://www.thebar.com/en-gb/talisker thebar.com UK] Diageo owned cocktail recipe site

{{Diageo plc}}
{{Scottish Distilleries}}
{{Skye}}

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[[Category:Diageo]]
[[Category:Distilleries in Scotland]]
[[Category:Scottish malt whisky]]
[[Category:Luxury brands]]
[[Category:Isle of Skye]]