| Tullibardine
Highland Malt ScotchWhisky
Tullibardine Distillery
Blackford, Perthshire, PH4 1QG, Scotland
Tel: +44 (0)1764 682252 / Fax: Fax: +44 (0)1764 682330
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 Tullibardine
History Tullibardine Distillery is situated in
the village of Blackford in Perthshire and lies on the site
of Scotland's oldest brewery dating back to the twelfth
century. The village of Blackford was given the name as
far back as the 10th century when the wife of the Nordic
King Magnus, reputedly fell off her horse and drowned while
crossing a 'ford' in the area. The tragedy was
said to have deeply affected the king and the area was referred
to hereafter as 'black ford' or as it is now
known as Blackford. A mound, which can be seen from the
grounds of the distillery, reputedly depicts where Queen
Helen was buried and is known locally within the village
as 'deaf knowe' due to the fact that if someone
shouts from one side of the hill they cannot be heard on
the other side.
12th Century – The Brewing of Beer Begins
Fortunately for the village, its reputation was
not blighted forever more. As Queen Helen experienced, the
village accessed a pure and plentiful supply of spring water
which streamed off the nearby Ochil Hills. This water, recognised
for its purity and quality was to put Blackford on the map
for a different reason. It was to become associated with
the making of beer and was the site of the first public
brewery in Scotland. The importance of this supply was widely
recognised and was the principle reason that the village
could boast of having no less than 3 breweries operating
at one time, all drawing water from the same source.
15th Century – A Coronation Beer
Yet more recognition was to be bestowed on the village when
in year 1488, King James IV purchased beer from the brewery
which stood on the site of the now Tullibardine Distillery
following his coronation at Scone. James IV was to become
one of the best known late medieval Scottish rulers and
ruled for 25 years eventually being slain at the battle
of Flodden on the 9th of September 1513.
20th Century – Tullibardine Becomes First
Distillery in 20th Century During the early part
of the 20th century, the brewery on site of the distillery
fell upon hard times and was used for a variety of purposes.
What had not changed, and to this day remains the same,
was the plentiful supply of crystal pure spring water which
continually flowed past the brewery from the Ochil hills
above.
In 1947, a Welshman by the name of William Delme Evans
purchased the brewery with a view to converting it to a
distillery with the original capital being supplied by friends
and relatives. Delme Evans was an engineer to trade and
designed the distillery to maximise efficiency initially
using nature, and latterly science, where necessary. The
distillery was built under very difficult circumstances
as material was under licence and building and construction
work at that time was subject to severe building controls.
However, in 1949, Tullibardine distillery produced spirit
for the first time and ran under Delme Evans ownership until
1953 where failing health forced him to sell it to the company
of Brodie Hepburn. Throughout his time at Tullibardine he
was assisted in the project by Mr C I Barrett, a retired
Excise Officer who had considerable experience of Highland
Malt Distilleries. Mr Barrett was subsequently manager of
Tullibardine Distillery until 1958.
To this day, examples of Delme Evans design are still in
use at the distillery. Cooling water for the distillery
still continues to flow over the top of the condensers using
only gravitational force and the heat generated within the
distillery is extracted using two condensers as opposed
to the traditional one to maximise heat exchange and reduce
unnecessary waste. Delme Evan was never really given the
credit he deserved for his ground breaking and influential
work at Tullibardine and despite going on to help design
the Jura and Glenallachie
distilleries, his true passion until his death in 2003 remained
Tullibardine.
In 1994 Whyte and Mackay, who had acquired the distillery
from Invergordon Distillers, decided to mothball Tullibardine
Distillery along with various other distilleries due to
an excess of distillation capacity within their company.
Tullibardine lay silent until it was purchased in 2003 under
private ownership.
Since re-opening, distillation levels have been reduced significantly
ensuring that only enough spirit is produced to satisfy realistic
future demands as well as providing a working distillery that
is open 52 weeks of the year to the public. Our emphasis within
the distillery is on producing a top quality spirit which
is laid down in the best possible casks which will exceed
our aspirations in terms of quality and expectations for years
to come. Under the indefatigable and hugely experienced management
of our  Master
distiller, Mr John Black, Tullibardine is set to become one
of the most sought after, premium single malt Scotch whisky
products on the market.
Tullibardine Highland Malt Scotch whisky is generally recognised
as an 'easy drinking' malt and an ideal pre-dinner appetiser.
It is smooth and mellow on the palate with a fruity flavour
and has a clean crisp finish. On nosing, Tullibardine provides
the recipient with a fresh, floral scent with hints of vanilla
and chocolate orange. Distilled from the purest Highland spring
water, Tullibardine's qualities make it an ideal introductory
malt Scotch whisky and is described as 'eminently quaffable'.
Courtesy of Tullibardine Distillery |
The Quincentennial malt celebrating the 500th Anniversary
of King James IV's coronation.
The 1988 is a light, refreshing malt that exhibits
all the quaffable characteristics of the Tullibardine
family of single malts. With hints of vanilla on the
nose and white chocolate in the finish, this is a
well-mannered malt; an easy going whisky that's simply
a pleasure to drink.
70cl bottle
ABV 46% . |
This is the second bottling of this wood finish.
Again after re-casking and careful monitoring this
was bottled. The Moscatel has been described as
a very exciting and unusual bottling of fabulous
colour and easy, soft flavours.
Medium bodied, sweet and winey nose. Soft, fruity
and chewy taste with a long, floral and raisiny
with a tang of lemons finish.
Moscatel comes from the Muscat grape – a
small type of grape that can be very sweet and aromatic.
It is also a common name for several varieties of
rich sweet wine.
70cl bottle
ABV 46%
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TULLIBARDINE 1966 VINTAGE
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY Continuing our
40 years series, we are delighted to introduce the
1966. A rich rosewood colour, with treacle, creme
caramel, dried fruit and marizpan to the nose. Flavours
- creamy texture with liquorice, Christmas pudding
and rich toffee. It is described as being really
special and well aged with an after taste to match.
70cl bottle
Cask Strength
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Tullibardine
Whisky Distillery
Tullibardine Distillery nestles at the foot of the Ochil
Hills in Perthshire, where the Highlands of Scotland begin.
These hills are renowned for the crystal purity of their
spring water.
The Distillery draws its water from the same source which
fed the first public brewery in Scotland and from where
King James IV purchased beer to celebrate his coronation
in 1488. Today Tullibardine (built on the site of the brewery)
reigns supreme as a fine malt whisky of majestic qualities.
It is considered "Eminently quaffable".
Distillery records show the original capacity of the distillery
was '35,000 proof gallons per annum' by 1953.
The distillery was increased in capacity over the following
years through various measures with each change being based
on the efficiency principles laid down by Delme Evans. In
1971, Tullibardine was purchased by Invergordon Distillers
and two years later, in 1973, the distillery was again increased
in capacity through repositioning the existing stills and
adding two additional stills, duplicates of the existing
pair. At its peak production, Tullibardine Distillery employed
15 men.
21st Century The distillery lay dormant until the
June of 2003 when it was bought along with the existing
stock of Tullibardine whisky. This was a long and difficult
purchase involving many different parties all coming together
to enable the distillery to be reopened. In the December
of 2003, Tullibardine distillery once again fired up the
boiler and spirit flowed from the stills for the first time
in nearly nine years. Throughout the re-commissioning process,
care was taken to maintain as many of the traditional methods
of production as possible and utilise the skills of the
distillery manager and operators in producing the Tullibardine
spirit. The care, attention to detail and passion which
is instilled by the team at Tullibardine has resulted in
the production of a superb spirit which is laid to rest
in the finest casks available. Now that we are up and running,
we will produce enough spirit for our future needs and those
of our customers. This is not an easy projection to make
as we do not know how popular Tullibardine will be in years
to come but what we can ensure is that it is as good as
we can make it.
Tullibardine 1488 Tullibardine 1488 is part
of a major new development which is now open. The name 1488
was chosen in remembrance of the year King James IV celebrated
his coronation and purchased beer from the brewery which was
situated where the Tullibardine Distillery is today.
Distillery Tours ~ Nosing ~ Tasting
The distillery reopened to visitors on Friday 5th
November 2004 after being mothballed some ten years earlier.
Distillery Tours
Join us for a short but informative distillery tour and
enjoy a taste of our whisky. Tours run throughout the day,
7 days a week and take approx 1/2 hour (generally from 10am
to 4pm on the hour every day). This is a working distillery
so disabled access is restricted to the nosing and tasting
room, shop and Café 1488. Group rate available on
request (must be pre-booked). Children must be over 5 to
go on tour and must be accompanied by an adult.
Connoisseur Tours
Tours must be pre-booked and take up to 2 hours. These are
more in-depth, allowing nosing straight from the cask, tour
of our bonded warehouse and tasting of a range of vintages
(subject to availability). Do you have something else in
mind? Let us know and we will endeavour to accommodate you.
Opening Times & Frequency
The Tullibardine Distillery is open 7 days a week from 10am
to 5pm. Tours are generally from 10am to 4pm on the hour
every day.
Tour Cost
£5/adult, £3/senior citizen and students, £2/child
over 5, £13/ family ticket (up to age 5)
Connoisseur Tour Cost
£25 and other specialist packages from £7.50
per person. Must be pre-booked and a non-refundable deposit
is applicable.
Parking
Ample free car parking is available.
Handicapped Facilities
Handicapped as well as baby changing facilities are available.
Visitor Centre & Retail Shop
In November 2004, Tullibardine opened the doors of the distillery
and new visitor centre to the public. This is a small part
of one of the best out-of-town retail locations in Scotland,
the other retail units later opened offering visitors a
unique Scottish experience. The new centre offers unforgettable
tours of the distillery by experienced guides as well as
connoisseur tours with the vastly experienced Distillery
Manager.
The new retail shop has a distinctively Scottish influence,
providing a range of unique gifts, accessories and seasonal
products, such as glassware, pottery, fabrics, hand-made wood
products and luxurious soaps and cosmetics. The licensed restaurant,
Cafe 1488, uses only the freshest local ingredients to create
a delicious range of soups, hot and cold sandwiches and home
baked products. Along with a range of fine quality tea, Starbucks
coffee, ales, whisky and soft drinks.
We consider Tullibardine to be the 'delicatessen' in a world
of supermarkets. We are a very small company who are intensely
passionate about what we do, producing a unique quality product
for sale to a discerning customer. By chance however, we are
the most accessible distillery in Scotland being on the doorstep
of Gleneagles and within 45 minutes drive north of Glasgow
and Edinburgh. We extend a warm welcome to all of our customers
and look forward to welcoming you personally, if not then
'virtually', to our distillery.
The Tullibardine
Team
Tullibardine distillery was purchased on the 17th
June 2003 by a group of four individuals with a passion for
business and whisky. The group had been working on the purchase
of the distillery for a few years prior to eventually bringing
the deal together and were delighted to achieve their long
held dream of bringing the distillery back on stream and resurrecting
the Tullibardine brand.
Shortly after purchasing the distillery, John Black joined
the company as the distillery manager. John has literally
spent his whole life at distilleries having been born at
Cardhu Distillery in Speyside
and spent the rest of his working life running and managing
distilleries. John has worked tirelessly at the task of
bringing Tullibardine back to life and has brought all of
his years of skill and experience to bear in the resurrection
of the distillery. John is assisted in his role by David
Myles and 6 others.
David Myles has brought a wealth of experience to Tullibardine
and has recently been promoted to production manager. Prior
to joining Tullibardine he had worked with Burns Stewart
Distillers plc since 1990 and his various roles of warehouse
operative to stillman, chargehand and mashman have stood
him in good stead for his role.
Contact Us
Tullibardine Distillery
Blackford, Perthshire, PH4 1QG, Scotland
Tel: +44 (0)1764 682252 / Fax: Fax: +44 (0)1764 682330
Email: Tullibardine
Distillery
Courtesy of Tullibardine Distillery |
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