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 single cask Talisker (#1312) distilled in 1955, matured in a sherry cask and bottled in 2005 by Gordon & MacPhail. Gordon & MacPhail was founded in Elgin in 1895 by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail. As was often the case at the time, the business started out as a delicatessen and wine merchant. In 1915, John Alexander MacPhail retired and a new partner joined the business, John Urquhart. He was joined by his son George in 1933, a few years after James Gordon sadly died in a car crash. Gordon & MacPhail works with many of Speyside’’s leading distilleries, from whom it has accumulated considerable stocks. It is also licensed to bottle whiskies for many of them, including Glen Grant, Linkwood, Mortlach, Macallan and Glenlivet. The business really took off in the 1970s, acquiring distributors in a huge range of countries and selling casks to several Italian bottlers in selections that would become legends in their own right. Gordon & MacPhail is still run by the Urquhart family today, from the same building, and is one of the most iconic bottlers in the industry, with incredible stocks of sometimes very old and rare whiskies. The company is in complete control of the entire maturation process. Gordon & MacPhail has also owned the Benromach distillery since 1993.