Skye, Carbost, Talisker Distillery, interior. Tun Room: view from South-West showing the six wooden washbacks; also showing a party of visitors on guided tour of distillery.

Description Skye, Carbost, Talisker Distillery, interior. Tun Room: view from South-West showing the six wooden washbacks; also showing a party of visitors on guided tour of distillery.

Date 1994

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number C 24385

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 741044

Scope and Content Washbacks in the tun room, Talisker Distillery, Skye, Highland Talisker Distillery, the only single malt distillery on Skye, was established in 1830 by brothers Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill. It was renovated 1880-7, and expanded in 1900. Triple distillation was abandoned in 1928 in favour of double distillation, in common with most other Scottish distilleries. After a fire in 1960 most buildings were replaced, but the distillery's maltings were demolished in 1972. This shows the tun room which contains six wooden washbacks, large vessels used for the fermentation of wort (malt sugars) with yeast. This creates a chemical reaction as the sugar turns to alcohol, and froth rises up to be contained by the wooden lids. A group of tourists are being led on a guided tour around the distillery. Talisker is named after the family home of the original founders, and refers to a nearby mountain called Thalas Gair, meaning 'sloping rock' in Norse. The distillery stands on the shores of Loch Harport, and once had its own pier and tramway to the lochside for loading purposes. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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