Talisker Dark Storm

Turn your head and cough, because this richly dark and smokey dram will separate the men from the boys.

Talisker distillery was founded in 1830 by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskil at Carbost, on the the Isle of Skye. In all these years Talisker's distillation method has remained unchanged. In fact, when the entire distillery burt to the ground in 1960, they rebuilt to the original specs — recreating the unique, coiled worm-tube still design of the original that slows down the distillation process, but enhances the body and natural sweetness of the Whisky.

Today, Talisker is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye — the coolest island name on the planet — creating a full range of island-style, medium-peated, Single Malt agings and finished-wood products.

See that little mark way down on the bottom-right of the Talisker Dark Storm 1L bottle? It says "1L"… not 70cl or 750ml. This is a full liter of smokey Single Malt goodness. And if you are an insider you know that this means that this bottle was specially produced for the travel market. They do that you know… make special bottlings that you can’t get at home to entice you to stuff a few bottles in your checked luggage. So even if you think you know Talisker, unless you were passing through Heathrow on your way to Timbuktu or visiting your offshore banker in the Cayman Islands, you probably haven’t seen it before.

Look at the label again, but this time right up front. It says Dark Storm. Does that sound all friendly, hugs & kisses, and kumbaya? No… no it does not! Talisker is already a medium-peated dram. The spring water flows over a peat bog on the way to the distillery, the malt is dried with steam-driven peat smoke, and it is aged in two-charred barrels. BUT… Talisker Dark Storm has those aging barrels cranked up to a four-to-five-char level. Turn your head and cough, because this is richly dark and smokey dram.