The distillery was founded in 1830 by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill and built in 1831 at Carbost after a number of false starts on other sites. It was rebuilt in 1960 after a stillhouse fire completely destroyed the distillery. The distillery operates five stills; two wash stills and three spirit stills. All the stills use worm tubs (condensing coils) rather than a modern condenser, which are believed to give the whisky a "fuller" flavour. In 1972 the stills were converted to steam heating and the maltings floor was demolished. Talisker's water comes from springs directly above the distillery via a network of pipes and wells.
Talisker has an unusual feature with its swan neck lye pipes. A loop in the pipes takes the vapour from the stills to the worm tubs so some of the alcohol already condenses before it reaches the cooler. It then runs back into the stills and is distilled again.
Talisker was acquired by Distillers Company in 1925 and is now part of Diageo. In 2007, Talisker 18-year-old won "Best Single Malt In The World 2007" at the World Whiskies Awards and in 2015 Talisker 10 Year Old won a Double Gold Medal and "Best Single Malt Scotch up to 12 years" in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
