Talisker is a single malt distillery at Carbost on the shore of Loch Harport, on Skye, built by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill in 1830.1,2,3 Its 2 wash stills and 3 spirit stills are thought to be a relic of distilling the spirit three times, which ended in 1928.1,3,4 A fire destroyed its stillhouse in 1960, and it reopened in 1962 with exact copies of the lost stills.1,4,5Diageo has owned it since 1997.4,6
Outstanding review score, 92 out of 100Outstanding92/100
A maritime Talisker with vanilla, crème brûlée, smoky fudge, preserved lemons and fir liqueur, praised as a genuine miracle despite its modern oak influence.
Outstanding review score, 94 out of 100Outstanding94/100
A maritime, fishy beauty with sumptuous salinity, this is described as a work of art whose decades in bottle softened the peat rather than dulling it.
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By Serge Valentin
Producing, 1830–1941
Silent, 1941–1962
Producing, 1962–today
183019001950Today
The MacAskills
In 1825 Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill came to Skye from the island of Eigg and took on the lease of Talisker House.1,4,5 They cleared crofters, small tenant farmers, from the land to make way for sheep.1,4,5 In 1829 they leased a 20-acre site at Carbost to build a distillery.5 They built the distillery despite opposition from the local clergy, and it takes its name from the farm and house of Talisker, about 6 miles away.1,2,3 By 1848 the brothers were bankrupt, and the lease passed to the North of Scotland Bank.4,5
In 1857 the lease passed to Donald MacLennan, Hugh MacAskill's son-in-law, for £500.1,4,5 MacLennan was bankrupt by 1863, and in 1866 the lease went to John Anderson, a Glasgow agent.1,4,5 In 1879 Anderson was jailed for fraud after selling clients casks of whisky that did not exist.4
Sources disagree: when John Anderson took over. This page uses 1866.
In 1880 Alexander Grigor Allan and Roderick Kemp took over the distillery, which could then make 700 gallons a week.1,4,5 It was rebuilt between 1880 and 1887, and by then two-thirds of its buildings were of modern construction.7,8 Alfred Barnard's 1887 guide described 3 pot stills, 2 worm tubs, and 6 washbacks, making a little over 40,000 gallons a year.8,9 Its kilns were heated with peat brought from a moor about a mile away, and the manager was Alexander Green.8,9 In 1892 Kemp sold his share to his partner after their laird, MacLeod of Dunvegan, refused to let them build a pier.1,4
Mergers and a pier
In 1894 the business became the Talisker Distillery Co.4,7 By 1894 output was up to 2,000 gallons a week.7 In 1895 Thomas Mackenzie became managing partner of the business.4,7 In 1898 the firm merged with Dailuaine-Glenlivet Distillers and Imperial Distillers to form Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Co.1,4,5 In 1900 the distillery was extended, and Talisker built its own pier, a tramway, and housing for workers.1,3,5 Until then, casks had to be rowed out to steamers moored 400 yards out in the loch.
Next: Mergers and a pier, Blenders take over, Double distillation and the war years, Fire and rebuilding, New malt, new heat, new owners, Plans for a new distillery, How Talisker is made
After Mackenzie died in 1916, a group including John Walker & Sons and John Dewar & Sons took over.1,4,5 Talisker has been a key part of Johnnie Walker Black Label ever since.1,4,5 In 1925 the group became Distillers Company Limited.4,5,7
Double distillation and the war years
In 1928 Talisker stopped triple distillation and began distilling twice, like most other Scottish distilleries.1,3,4 In 1941 it shut down to save barley during the war.1 On 12 August 1948 a fire in the store destroyed grain and over 100 empty barrels, but no whisky.7
Fire and rebuilding
1960–1962
On 22 November 1960 a valve on the coal-fired No. 1 spirit still was not shut properly, and spirit boiled over onto the fire below.1,4,5 The distillery was silent until 1962 while it was rebuilt.4 It reopened on 1 September 1962 with exact copies of all 5 stills, still heated by coal, so as not to risk changing Talisker's flavour.1,4,5
New malt, new heat, new owners
In 1972 Talisker closed its floor maltings and began getting its malt from Glen Ord Central Maltings.1,3,4 The same year its stills were converted to steam heating, fuelled by an oil-fired burner.5,7,10 In 1986 Guinness took over the Distillers Company, which renamed itself United Distillers in 1987.4,7,11 In 1997 Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan to create Diageo.4,6 In 1997 Talisker stopped filling casks on site, and its new spirit now goes by tanker to near Glasgow, where most of it is stored.12 In 1998 it got a new mash tun, where malt and water are mixed, and its worm tubs were replaced.4,9,12 Sources disagree on how much was new: one says the worms were fully replaced, another that only the wooden tubs were and the original coils still work.4,10 In September 2008, 2 washbacks were added as production increased, taking the total from 6 to 8.12
In October 2024 Diageo gave notice of plans to build a new distillery on the site to make more spirit.7,13,14 The old production buildings would go once the new one worked; the plan met opposition, and as of December 2025 the council had not approved it.7,13,14
How Talisker is made
Its malt is medium peated and comes from Glen Ord Maltings.1,4,12 Its water comes from Cnoc nan Speireag (Hawk Hill) and flows over peat.4,7,12 Its washbacks are made of Oregon pine.4,12 Fermentation lasts at least 65 hours.4 The spirit is distilled twice, first in the wash stills and then in the spirit stills.3,4,12 The stills are heated by steam.4,12 The wash stills have a U-shaped bend in the lyne arm, the pipe that carries vapour to the condenser, with a purifier pipe at its lowest point.4,10,12 This sends heavier parts of the vapour back into the still to be distilled again.4,10,12 All the stills cool their vapour in worm tubs, copper coils in cold water outside the stillhouse.4,7,12 Worm tubs tend to give a heavy spirit, and little copper contact gives the new spirit sulphury notes.4,7,12
