Talisker Port Ruighe
Talisker Port Ruighe is a great expression from this distillery located in the Isle of Skye.
What makes Talisker Port Ruighe so unique is that it is finished in Port casks, which gives the whisky a distinctive sweetness and fruitiness that is not found in other Talisker expressions. The whisky is aged in American oak barrels for at least ten years before being transferred to Port casks for finishing.
The result is a whisky that is rich and complex, with notes of smoke, salt, and pepper that are typical of Talisker whiskies, as well as a sweet, fruity flavor that is reminiscent of berries, plums, and raisins. The finish is long and warming, with a pleasant sweetness that lingers on the palate.
Talisker Distillery
This distillery is located in Carbost, Isle of Skye. It was founded in 1830 by brothers Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill. Talisker and Clynelish, in Brora, are classic examples of 'Clearance distilleries', they were built by landlords who cleared crofters from their ancestral lands. Those landlords then used the cleared peoples as labourers in their farms and other enterprises. All that was possible thanks to laws enacted after 1746 that protected the rights of 'entrepreneurs' to exploit more profitable farming methods.
After the MacAskill brothers cleared some land and brought sheep in, they decided to build a distillery. Cleared peoples helped build and run the distillery, the brothers failed to keep the distillery running and it was surrendered to the bank in 1848. For the next 30 years a series of new owners failed to keep the distillery operational; it kept changing hands until 1880. On that year the owner of Dailuaine distillery bought it and promptly built a pier. The pier facilitated the loading of barrels loaded with whisky onto waiting ships.
Talisker was sold once again in 1892 and Roderick Kemp, the owner, went on to buy Macallan distillery. His business partner owned the distillery until his death in 1916. On that year, a group of blenders headed by John Walker & Son, DCL and John Dewar took over the distillery. After many mergers that collective is now Diageo.
The last major change at Talisker took place in 1928 when the distillery switched from a triple distillation method to the current double distillation method. It also suffered a massive fire in 1960. It remains one of Diageo's most important brands.
