Scotland, Isle of Skye. Distillery operational. Owner: Diageo

A leading single malt in the Six Classic Malts range first released in the late 1980s, Talisker was already well-known to fans of peated whisky. In the 1970s, the malt was found in an 8 year old version (45.8%) and a 12 year old version (43%). The 1980s saw the addition to the label of the famous dandy Johnnie Walker, who replaced the distillery's coat of arms which had been used up until this point (50s, 60s and 70s). A key supplier of malt to the blends Johhnie Walker, Te Beag, White Horse and Isle of Skye, Talisker was for many years limited to just two expressions, the Classic Malts and Distillers Edition. From 2001, however, bottlings became more common, allowing the vaults to release venerable versions aged for 20, 25, 30 and 35 years, culminating in 2016 with the release of a Talisker 40 Year Old in the Rare Malts Selection (45.7%) limited to just five bottles worldwide. It was the first and most likely the last, as, like Lagavulin, this edition of Talisker is unique in the history of the Rare Malts range.

A Talisker 19 year old distilled in 1979 and bottled in 1998. Cadenhead was founded in 1842 by George Duncan, who was quickly joined by William Cadenhead who renamed the business after Duncan’’s death in 1858. When Cadenhead in turn passed away in 1904, his nephew Robert Duthie took over and turned the business into the independent bottler it is today. After Duthie, it was managed by one of his employees, Ann Olivier, whose stubborn approach to running the business led to much of the stock having to be sold at auction by Christie’’s (London) in 1972 to feed the kitty and save the business. It was then sold to J. & A. Mitchell and Co, who also owned Springbank, and moved to Campbeltown. A limited edition of 432 bottles.