Given its location on the Isle of Skye, in the North Atlantic, there has always been a connection between Talisker and the world’s oceans. In recent years, the distillery has built a reputation for supporting maritime environmental efforts. Its latest single-malt release, The Wild Blue, brings the focus closer to home.

Each bottle of The Wild Blue made contributes £3 directly to the Blue Marine Foundation. Talisker has pledged a minimum donation of £112,608 – the full cost of a vital project dedicated to restoring coastal habitats across the UK – regardless of the number of bottles sold. The commitment doesn’t end there.

On Friday 6 June (two days before World Oceans Day), Talisker will host swimming event The Wild Blue Swim Challenge at Joss Bay in Kent. Among the swimmers will be some special guests, to be announced. But there are also still places available for enthusiasts to join the relay. Talisker will donate a further £150 to Blue Marine Foundation for every kilometre swum between 7am and 5pm.

The Wild Blue Swim Challenge will take place in the English Channel waters off the long sandy beach, beneath the mini white cliffs of Joss Bay, between Broadstairs and Margate. Over a marked 100km course, swimmers will tag in and out, working as a team to clock up the kilometres over 10 hours.

There will be food plus drams of Talisker and whisky cocktails for participants after the swimming is done, so there will be fun to be had as well as the gruelling challenge. And for those who want to contribute to the worthy cause, but don’t fancy the cold of the English Channel, there is the option of buying a bottle of Talisker The Wild Blue whisky (£82).

The whisky inside each bottle (which is made from 100 per cent recycled glass) is non-age-statement but the finish was 16 months, which suggests a respectable age. That final two and a third years of maturation was in South African coastal red wine casks. The effect is to highlight the classic Talisker maritime notes of edible seaweed and sea spray salinity and add juicy red berry notes, particularly dried cranberries. Long-time Talisker fans rest assured: there is familiar beach-bonfire smoke on the nose and a pink peppercorn tingle on the palate, as you’ve come to expect.

Participants who register at the link below will have transport (from anywhere in the UK) covered and a wetsuit provided for the day. Talisker The Wild Blue can also be purchased from here.

All participants must be over legal purchase age. Please drink responsibly

malts.com