Talisker Distillery
This photo does not really do the distillery justice. The Talisker Distillery is probably the ‘coziest’ distillery that we have visited thus far with hard wood floors and the smell of malted barley. It is located near the water, giving the whisky its distinctive sea-salt smell, in the tiny village of Carbost (there are only two restaurants to eat at). Despite being owned by the whisky giant Diagio, the distillery retains some quaint charm.
We visited around 10:30am, before having a proper meal, which is probably not the best time to do some whisky tasting but what the hell!
The waiting area has historical artifacts and information to keep you entertained before the tour. You also get a complimentary dram of of the Talisker 10 Years either before or after your tour.
Alex tasting some Talisker
Our tour guide was a friendly woman named Vicky who seemed to appreciate our enthusiasm. She also didn’t seem too bothered by how Alex and TC tried to weasel a discount for being barmen who served Talisker. (That actually doesn’t help you get a discount, for the record, but they will try to chat you up a bit more)
Diagio doesn’t allow visitors to photograph any of their distilleries, which is a bummer, but we managed to get some photo ops before and after the tour. You start out in an entry room where the tour guide explains the three main ingredients for whisky: water, barley and yeast. Vicky even knew how to say yeast in German! The barley used for Talisker is smoked in peat for less time than the Islay whiskys giving it a medium peaty taste.
The tour then leads to the mashes where the barley grist is cooked with hot water so the sugars can be extracted for the alcohol. The left over barley is then given to farmers to feed their livestock. But Vicky told us not to worry because there isn’t any alcohol in the feed so there “aren’t any drunk sheep or cows (or drunk coos) wandering around!!!” Whisky distillery tour guides love this joke; we will be vigilant to keep track of how often it is used.
The sugary water by-product is called wort and is then sent to the washbacks to ferment after the addition of yeast. You can view the insides of the washbacks to see the bubbling blob that will later become Talisker.
After the washbacks you view the stills; Talisker has two wash stills and three spirit stills (It is the only distillery with three stills)
The Talisker Stills
Vicky explained the the distillation process; the wash from the washbacks goes through the wash still to then become a low wine. The low wine goes into the spirits still and is divided in the three cuts: the head, the heart and the tail. The heart has a high alcohol content and then goes on the casks to mature.
Talisker Casks
Most of the kinds of whisky produced at Talisker are aged in American Oak casks only, but the 57 Degrees North and the Distiller’s Edition under go a second aging process in sherry casks. The tour ends in the gift shop (surprise, surprise!) where you get 3 pounds off the first large bottle you buy and 5 pounds off any additional. If you ask nicely they’ll give you some samples to try the different ages and editions out. We bought the 10 year and 57 Degrees North, Talisker’s newest product which tastes best with a few drops of water.
