- Distillery: The Talisker Distillery – Diageo (1830) (Carbost, Isle of Skye)
- Expression: Talisker (“sloping rock or precipitous rock”)
- ABV: 48%
- Type: Island Single Malt
- Cask Profile: American Oak.
- Tasting Notes: Sweet Peat, smoke, pepper and sea salt.
The Talisker Distillery
The Island distillery of Talisker was founded by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill in 1830, and has been producing Island single malts since.
As the distillery’s name suggests, the looming white building is perched on the shores of Loch Harport, on the isle of Skye. The distillery still uses traditional wooden washbacks alongside its iconic U-shaped wash stills and distinctive swan-neck pipework before condensing the spirit in traditional wooden worm tubs. Now crafted under the care of Master Blender Dr. Craig Wilson, the Talisker team preserve the classic Island methods, drawing water from nearby Cnoc nan Speireag and using heavily peated malted barley to create a bold, smoky flavour with a fiery black pepper finish.
The distillery is now part of the Diageo distribution network.
Tasting Notes
Nose: On the nose, Talisker 10 is sweet and deliciously smoky. Great Scottish whisky tries to replicate the feelings of the place it comes from, and Talisker does this perfectly. Rugged, smoky notes hide a sweet body. It reminds me of why I love Arbroath smokies on rustic oatcakes.
Palate (Flavour & Texture): Talisker opens with a crash of pepper and smoke that washes across the palate and awakens the senses. Yet, the whisky is not an aggressive one. It balances the light, unmistakable oaky smoke with sweet notes of honey, almond and apricots. To me, there is a briny aspect of the whisky that lurks in the background, giving it a saline morishness.
Finish: The lingering notes are like the day after sitting by a fire. Smoke and peat that sit like dust in the nose.
The Verdict & Rating
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Who it’s for: A crowd pleaser for peat lovers, or those newly acquainted with the way of peated spirits.
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Who might pass: The sweet notes are shrouded in smoke, which may put drinkers off who prefer their whisky on the sweeter side. Dalwhinnie and Macallan lovers beware.
The old batches of Talisker 10 made this my favourite whisky for a number of years. Things have changed as the popularity of this spirit has grown, but they still capture what made me love this in the first place. A brilliant balance of smoke and sweetness that captures the raw essence of island life.
