I discovered Tullibardine no so long ago. It reportedly has an uncommonly floral and bready character. Today, I’ll investigate this character further.
Notably no distillation occurred at the distillery between 1994 and 2003 due to mothballing and change of ownership. One should keep an eye out for the 20yo and 25yo at auction, which are known to contain a large portion of much older stock!
Today I have two samples with humble age statements, but one being distilled before and the other after the mothballing. The first is a standard 10yo bottled in the 1990s and should be representative of the pre-mothballing style. The second sample is a recent 4yo — young, because I wanted to see the modern spirit character, hopefully not masked by the PX finish…
Tullibardine | 10yo (1990s) | 40% | Official
from 5cl sample bottle
⚡Experience
Predominantly light and floral nose (flowers, gorse/coconut, nutmeg), with citrus (lemonade, sweetened mandarins) and desserts (cake icing and almonds – I think of Swedish mazarin, vanilla). Some hints of Riesling wine, and cooked butternut squash.
Light and creamy texture; on the sweet side. Mandarin cake, melon, . Pleasant but generic finish.
💡Thoughts
It’s pleasant, and has a quite distinct light and floral character. The low abv makes one wish for a more concentrated and distinguished taste experience, though.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Verdict
⚫🟡⚫
⚫🟡⚫
N/A
Easy-going and pleasant
Tullibardine | 4yo (2016) | 46% | Murray McDavid
🌐
Scotch single malt
🪵
bourbon hogshead + first fill PX finish
🔆
unchillfiltered & natural color
💲
€37
from 5cl sample bottle
⚡Experience
Heavy PX notes (butter, raisin) at first, but with repeated nosing sour, green, and funky notes emerge (citrus, sour cream, pine needles, grass, fermented vegetables, barn/hay). A bit hard to wrap ones head around.
Dense and oily, sweet and sherried, a little brine. Christmas cake, packed with raisins, gingerbread, chocolate, some tropical fruit, a hint of exotic wooden furniture.
PX sherry in the finish.
💡Thoughts
This is clearly a dram that takes some time getting used to. I’m quite astonished that the young age isn’t selling it short. I could’ve believed this was twice the age. It’s not hot or overly spicy. But at the end of the day, there is the impression of a characterful spirit contending with a powerful cask finish; not the degree of integration that I find ideal. But at the affordable price it’s actually a very fair offering, though I’d lose my interest before getting to see the bottom of the bottle.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Verdict
⚫🟡⚫
⚫🟡🟢
⚫🟡🟢
Decent for PX with a twist
DuckDrams 
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