Isle of Skye

Talisker is an Island malt within the Highland classification and the only remaining distillery on the hauntingly beautiful Isle of Skye off the north-west coast of Scotland. It is a hardy environment, both in terms of the landscape – dramatic mountains and great, broad glens scooped out by glaciers – and the people’s lifestyle of crofting farms, fishing and distilling. The crofters literally had to fight for basic rights; the riots against the thrall in which they lived brought in, first, armed Government troops to calm things down and, subsequently, the Crofters Act of 1886 which gave some security of tenure.

The island’s past is punctuated by Norse invasion and the Lords of the Isles’ struggles with Scottish monarchs. There were also clan battles, the Macleods, Macdonalds and Mackinnons continually chafing at each other’s territories. The dominant Macleod clan is of mixed Norse and Gaelic descent and Skye place names indicate those parallel influences; the main point of access to the island at Kyleakin is named after a Norse king who tried to make Skye part of his empire, which included Greenland and Iceland.

Above: Sheep are an important part of the economy of Skye. This farmer pauses in front of his flock, with the Storr rock in the background.