Isle of Skye distillery Talisker earlier this month opened its doors to a newly-renovated and wholly reimagined visitor experience.
Off-the-beaten-track Isle of Skye in Scotland doesn’t tend to feature on travel itineraries much. But that is likely to change, thanks to whisky. In 2017 Torabhaig was launched, the second-ever whisky distillery to open up on the Isle of Skye. Then there’s Talisker, the island’s first and original single malt whisky distillery, which has just announced the opening of its new visitor experience centre after extensive and prolonged renovations.
Talisker, located on the rugged coast of Talisker Bay on the western part of the island, was first opened in 1830. But owners Diageo have recently injected a £185 million investment to completely transform its new visitor attraction in order to boost tourism to this part of Scotland. Talisker’s revamped new visitor centre boasts an entirely new interactive experience as well as revamped distillery tours.
The new visitor centre’s thematic focus? To demonstrate that Talisker is ‘made by the sea’. To be more precise, how the sea and salty air impacts its whisky’s maturation process. Part of the experience is a showcase of its partnership with ocean conservation organisation, Parley for the Oceans, spotlighting the importance of the sea to the distillery.
The new Talisker visitor experience offers three new tours for guests:
- The Distillery Tour: Visitors will discover how the island influences the flavour of the whisky whilst exploring the making Talisker room and mash house before enjoying three tastings of the beloved single-malt.
- Made by the Sea Tasting Experience: Whisky lovers will have the chance to immerse themselves in a multi-sensory tasting session that explores the story of Talisker followed by a tasting.
- Talisker Cask Draw and Tasting Experience: Designed with the whisky connoisseur in mind, this experience will see guests visit Talisker’s maturation warehouse where they’ll get the rare opportunity to draw and taste five unique cask-strength distillery exclusive whiskies – set to open at a later date.
Aside from the new tours, the new visitor centre includes two bars, a self-guided exhibition and retail space packed with local products, creating a place where both tourists and Skye residents can gather.
For its unveiling, Talisker welcomed multiple record-breaking wild swimmer Ross Edgley, and Skye-based artist, adventurer and conservationist Katie Tunn to grace the launch of its new visitor experience.
Talisker is the sixth Diageo distillery to have revamped its visitor experience. Other Diageo distilleries to have recently undergone refurbishment to reimagine the traditional whisky tour experience include Glenkinchie, Clynelish, and Cardhu, and shows how big the beverage company is betting on tourism.
“Talisker is inseparable from the unique Isle of Skye landscape and its whisky is inherently shaped by the sea and landscape that surrounds it. Our new brand home celebrates that deep connection with the sea and Talisker’s commitment to preserving the wonderful marine environment in Scotland and around the world,” shared Barbara Smith, Managing Director of Diageo’s Scotland Brand Homes.
“From the tours to the bars and retail space, there’s so much to experience at Talisker whether you’ve travelled two miles or two hundred miles to be there and whether you’re already familiar with this wonderful whisky, or discovering it for the first time,” Smith added.
“What you’ve got here is a truly unique whisky experience in a stunning setting, with its opportunity to get out into the wild and come back here to one of the many tastings and tours, there are so many reasons to keep returning to this beautiful island,” said Edgley of the revamped Talisker visitor experience.
Visitors to looking to book their tour at the new Talisker visitor centre can do at taliskerdistillery.com.
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