Blog

Sep 24, 2023

What Is a Maritime Whisky and Why Does It Taste Like the Sea?

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Talisker Whisky's "Made by the Sea" slogan isn't just marketing jargon — here's how the brand

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission.

Talisker Whisky's "Made by the Sea" slogan isn't just marketing jargon — here's how the brand captures maritime flavor.

The world of single malt Scotch is a vast one, filled with various flavors dictated (at least in part) by the regions in which they're made. You've got your heavily-peated smoky whiskies from Islay, fruit-forward Speyside Scotches, light and earthy Lowland whiskies, and so on.

Then there are "maritime-style" whiskies. This type of Scotch, while not officially a category, is not confined to any one of Scotch whisky's five official regions. Instead, it refers to whiskies produced near the ocean that take on a sort of briny, salty flavor from the sea. Perhaps the most emblematic of this type of spirit are those distilled by Talisker Whisky, which is produced on the Isle of Skye and technically classified as a Highland whisky.

After imbibing in my fair share of Talisker, I became curious as to how the brand — which markets itself with the slogan "Made by the Sea" — was able to so accurately capture its rocky, coastal environment in the bottle. So, to find out, I interviewed Ewan Morgan, Head of Whisky Outreach at Diageo, which has Talisker in its portfolio.

Environment: "Distilleries located near the sea are subject to the local climate, which can have a significant influence on the whisky's maturation process," Morgan says. "The sea air, often heavy with salt and iodine, can permeate the casks during maturation, impacting the whisky and lending it a maritime character."

Water: "Distilleries often use local water sources in their whisky production," Morgan says. "If these water sources have a high mineral content, or if they're located near the coast and thus influenced by the sea, it can result in a whisky with maritime flavor."

Peat: "If the peat used in the malting process has been in close proximity to the coast, it can impart a maritime, briny character to the whisky," Morgan says. "This is often seen in island or coastal distilleries where the peat bogs are exposed to the ocean air."

Talisker, which uses local water and peat in its coastal distillery, meets all three of Morgan's criteria for maritime flavor. But the whisky goes even further with its ties to the ocean than most other brands. "Talisker was one of the first distilleries in the world to utilize seawater to help with its distillation cooling water process by creating a looped system from the neighboring sea loch," Morgan says. "This cost over £1 million and was so successful that Diageo has also implemented it at Caol Ila distillery on Islay. This groundbreaking water-saving technology vastly reduces the amount of water we require from the spring water source that feeds into our main water source, the Cnocnan Speireag Burn."

"Talisker is an excellent example of a whisky with maritime qualities. Its location on a sea loch (Scottish for lake) called Loch Harport exposes it to a lot of sea air and it has a noticeable salty, briny flavor," Morgan says.

But it isn't the only distillery known for maritime-style Scotch.

"Other distilleries known for their maritime character include Lagavulin and Caol Ila on Islay, Oban in the Highlands, and Springbank in Campbeltown," he says.

Drizly

Drizly

Drizly

Drizly