Talisker Distillery: A Scottish Stalwart

Set on the shores of Loch Harport in the village of Carbost, Talisker distillery is the oldest working distillery on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It was founded in 1830 and built a year later, after Kenneth and Hugh MacAskill acquired the lease of Talisker House. The distillery produced the finest of single malt scotch whisky and was extended in 1900. But on 22nd November, 1960, a fire completely destroyed their still-house. It took another two years to rebuild the distillery with exact replicas of the previous five copper pot stills to preserve the essence of the original Talisker.

Talisker Distillery matures most of its spirits in American oak casks. However, the Talisker Distillers Editions are matured longer, with a finishing period in amoroso sherry casks. This gives a rich sherried note to the single malt, and is distinctly different from other smoky, spicy whiskies that the distillery offers. The malted barley they use comes from Muir of Ord. The water used in production comes from the Burn of Cnocnam Speireag and is known to add salty, peaty notes to their scotch.

Perched in the Inner Hebridean Scottish Isles, Skye is a place of extremes. Windswept rugged peaks of the Cuillin, and the gentle shores of the sea, the distillery tries to capture this contradiction in their scotch whisky. Talisker invites people from all across the globe to visit their distillery, witness their traditional pot stills, and the worm tubs that they believe make Talisker unique. Conducting several tours a day, all year round, Talisker wants the world to not just understand their craft but their homeland too.

Van Brunt Stillhouse: The Artisanal Whisky Haven

Van Brunt Stillhouse is an artisanal brewery located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. Named after Cornelius Van Brunt, one of the neighbourhood’s founding fathers, it dates back to the pre-Prohibition era. The distillery sources local ingredients for its whiskies, which have a mash bill of a minimum of 51 percent rye. They are unfiltered, and aged in charred oak barrels of American oak. There are four main types of whiskey that are produced here.

King's County Distillery: New York’s Oldest

They say old is gold. Old distilleries hold an irresistible charm for any whisky lover. And, a search for the oldest operating whisky distillery in New York will lead you to the King’s County Distillery. Standing in a corner on the Brooklyn Navy Yard, this 117-year old distillery was America’s first to open after the Prohibition Era. Beginning the journey in a tiny room in East Williamsburg, the distillery shifted to the waterfront Paymaster Building, a stone’s throw away from the landmark where the Brooklyn Whisky War of 1860s was fabled to have taken place. The King’s County Distillery strikes a note of symphony between the traditional, and the modern. The distillery uses copper stills imported from Scotland with hand-built wooden fermenters sourced locally in their distillation process. It remains one of the oldest, and the most prominent craft distilleries of New York, well known for producing corn whiskey, and bourbon.

Bakery Hill Distillery, Australia

Having been constantly told over the years that no other place in the world can produce as good single malt whiskies as Scotland, David Baker, a former food scientist, was irked so much, that he began distilling whisky from 1999. He thought if one could understand the process of whisky making at a molecular level, it might be possible to replicate some of the best single malts from Scotland. With that in mind, he followed the traditional procedures which have been practiced for centuries now, and acquired equipment from some of the leading engineering firms from UK. Since he believes that the most important part of the distillery is the still, and that every dimension in the still influences the flavor, aroma, and the character of the whisky, he took great effort in designing the stills. That is how Bakery Hill distillery was born in Victoria, Australia.