Talisker 'Directors Tactical Selection' 1974 Douglas Laing 26 Year Old

For a long time, Talisker was the sole distillery on Scotland’s iconic Isle of Skye. Renowned for the quality of its output, the distillery has rarely changed hands, joining what has now become Diageo back in 1916. Despite this, releases were not the most common. An 8 year old was bottled officially and Gordon & MacPhail produced what are now classic and sought after vintage bottlings under official license from the distillery. When a 10 year old expression became a founding pillar of the classic malts range, the popularity of the distillery exploded, and it is now one of the most revered and exported in Scotland.

Like Glenfarclas, the brand protection at Talisker is very strict and often independent bottlers are required to call it something else. Directors' Tactical Selection may be one of our favourites.

This whisky was distilled in May 1974 and aged for a total of 26 years.

Douglas Laing & Co was established in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, affectionately known as “FDL.” The company started out as a blending business, but over time their focus shifted towards independently bottlings single malts. Fred died in 1982, leaving the business to his two sons, Stewart and Fred Jr, who eventually carved it up in 2013, with Stewart leaving to establish Hunter Laing. Fred Jr and his daughter Cara now run Douglas Laing, which continues to bottle single malt and has also revived its blending business. Additionally, the company has recently moved into distilling as well, announcing plans to construct the new Clutha distillery in Glasgow, and taking over Strathearn in Perthshire in 2019.

The Old Malt Cask series is one of the most established independent labels on the market. It was launched by Douglas Laing in 1998 and bottled by them until 2013 when the brand became part of the Hunter Laing portfolio instead.

One of 282 bottles.