The Birth of a Lion

It is a great day for SGwhisky when a whisky with a strong claim to fame. It is even better when the claim to fame is unique to the Singaporean context! A while back, SGwhisky was lucky enough to get such a whisky from Tullibardine, the Birth of A Lion 1965 expression for Singapore..

As mentioned many a time before, SGwhisky prides itself on all things Singaporean, and I have been lucky enough to try both the 1990 and 1988 BenRiachs that were bottled for the Singapore market. The elusive one however has been the much more exclusive 1965 Tullibardine Birth of A Lion whisky that was bottled in 2010 to commemorate Singapore's 45th year of independence. Well the time has now come and here is the review for that particular whisky! To the readers of this blog, SGwhisky proudly presents to you the 1965 Birth of a Lion!

As mentioned earlier, the 1965 Tullibardine was a single cask whisky bottled in 2010 to commemorate Singapore's 45th birthday. It is of course all the better that the whisky was a 1965 vintage, adding to the historical feel of the whisky, as Singapore itself gained its independence in 1965. It is, hence, quite a spiritual experience when the history embodied in this cask parallels the history of our beautiful young nation!

At the back of the bottle, Tullibardine states how this whisky is specially bottled for Singapore, and the name Birth of a Lion is shown as well. For those who aren't too sure why such a phrase is used, Singapore is known as the 'Lion City', with the image of a Lion synonymous with the historical fabric of the state. It is on our Coat of Arms, it is nickname for our Soccer team, and yes, our Singapore icon is of course:

Credit: newvisitarea.com

That of course is our beloved Merlion, a mythical creature, half fish, half lion, and it is one of the national icons. Another of course is the Durian, which is commonly embodied by the Esplanade (our National Performing Arts Theatre and Concert Hall), which oddly enough is in the background of the photograph with the Merlion.

But we digress, weren't we supposed to be talking about the whisky! So here it is, the 1965 Birth of a Lion!

Name: Tullibardine 1965 (Birth of A Lion)

Distillery: Tullibardine (Highland)

Type: Single Malt Scotch (Single Cask)

Age Statement: 45YO

Serial No: 104/208

Alc/Vol: 47.9%

Nose: Loads of unripe fruits: plums, peaches and fresh red apples. Citrus and a faintest hint of smoke come in as well. Very fruity and refreshing! (23)

Taste/Palate: Malty, oaky and rich with the notes of fruits playing a major role again. Orange peel, unripe tannic notes, cinnamon and ginger spice. Still has quite a bit of bite to it despite the prolong period in the barrel. (22)

Finish: Red fruits and Wolfberry (Goji) and some dried longans. Taste a bit like the Chinese dessert soup (Cheng Tng, Qing Tang) Interesting... (22)

Overall: The whisky is good for what it is, but does not really hit the highest of heights. Nevertheless, the story behind it really does push it to prominence, at least to this true blue Singaporean here. If I had the chance, I'll definitely buy one of these and keep it for my future generations! (23) 90/100

Found at: The Auld Alliance, Drinks Fellas