The first cask-strength Talisker 8YO released by the original distillers is inspired by the regular releases of thirty years ago, and comes from deep-charred first fill ex-bourbon American oak hogsheads. Founded in 1830 by brothers Hugh and Kenneth Macaskill, Talisker is the oldest working distillery on Skye. But it’s far more. The chilli pepper ‘catch’ in the throat as the whisky slips down is as much a part of island life on Skye as the famous Cuillin Hills. Even a massive fire in 1960 that destroyed the still-house couldn’t quench its fame, though it seemed to set Loch Harport ablaze. The distillery was soon rebuilt around exact replicas of the old stills, featuring U shaped lye pipes in a form of double distillation. Cooling takes place in traditional worm tubs. All this gives Talisker its unmistakeable texture and character. A famous epithet came from the pen of the famous Scottish poet and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, in A Scotsman’s Return from Abroad (1880). He gave this immortal brew its own whisky region. “The King o’ drinks as I conceive it; Talisker, Islay or Glenlivet.” Enough said.