Tasting Two Tullibardines

For the next review on this blog, sgwhisky proudly presents to you a lesser known distillery that has been making a name for itself with a set of impressive 'boutique' whiskies, Tullibardine distillery. Not very well known in Singapore and indeed around the world, Tullibardine has started a slow but steady rise to prominence with a few amazing bottlings, including a famous 1966 World Cup Vintage to commemorate England's FIFA World Cup success, which garnered critical acclaim from the whisky world. Tullibardine, too, has also experimented with various different finishes to their whisky, one of which will be reviewed later on in this post.

In Singapore, Tullibardine is marketed by Drinks Fellas, who are the people behind the exclusive Singapore only bottlings of BenRiach and Tullibardine, the latter being an extremely precious and raved about 1965 vintage, commemorating the independence of our great nation. In the interest of full disclosure for the blog, sgwhisky would like to inform all readers that Drinks Fellas has kindly granted sgwhisky access to all the whiskies that they have available to them so as to write reviews on these whiskies. Sgwhisky, however, would like to stress that this in no way affects the impartiality of this blog, and all whiskies regardless of their origin will be graded in an objective manner.

So without further ado, let us have a look at these two interesting whiskies, the 1988 Tullibardine and the Tullibardine Port Wood.

Name: Tullibardine 1988
Distillery: Tullibardine
Region: Highland
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Age Statement: Nil
Vintage: 1988
Alc/Vol: 46%


This 1988 bottling is one that steeped in history. Bottled to commemorate the 500 year anniversary of King James IV's coronation, this quincentennial bottling is arguably one of the most clear examples of the light, clean and pleasant style that is Tullibardine.

Nose: Notes of butter, malt and vanilla are very clean and evident (20)

Taste/Palate: Instantly honey sweet with touches of saltiness and refreshing maltiness. A bitterness then kicks in with a nice warm spicy sensation lingering in the throat. Clean, simple yet very pleasant (23)


Finish: Fairly floral finish of rose flavoured chocolate and butter cake (22)

Balance: An almost gentleman-like dram. Simple, balanced and well-mannered (21) 86/100

Name: Tullibardine Port Wood Finish

Distillery: Tullibardine
Region: Highland
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Age Statement: Nil (But bottled in 2007 so it is around 14YO)
Vintage: 1993
Alc/Vol: 46%

The Port Wood finish is a highly recommended expression of Tullibardine that combines both the pleasant style of the distillery with a rich kick afforded it by the Port Pipes. This was the slightly more preferred dram of the night, and a very good after dinner whisky.

Nose: Rich malty and honey notes with a load of vanilla. The sweet fruity influences of the port come in with notes of berries and oranges. Unfortunately, the flavours don't seem to gel and are very distinct (21)

Taste/Palate: Very oily and medium-bodied. Initially honied with a fruity sweetness before a nice hit of cocoa and cinnamon come to the fore with a hint of creaminess and nuttiness (21)

Finish: This works though! A truly pleasant finish brings up the rear as should any good port wood finish (in my humble opinion though!). Light creaminess is complemented with a really light and pleasant sweetness and nuttiness that lingers on... and on.... and on.... (24)

Overall: Sadly for this dram, its finish is amazing but the rest of it don't seem to have the legs to catch up. A real pity though! (21) 87/100

Found At: Drinks Fellas