Tullibardine distillery information
The current Tullibardine distillery was not the first one to carry that name. Another distillery was established at an unknown location by Williaam and Henry Bannerman in 1798 under the same name and operated until around 1837. The current distillery was founded in 1949 on the site of an ancient brewery in Perthshire. It was designed and built by William Delmé-Evans (who later also designed Jura and Glenallachie) and C.I. Barratt for The Tuliberadine Distillery Ltd. It was sold to Brodie Hepburn Ltd, whisky brokers and blenders from Glasgow, in 1954.
In 1971, Invergordon Distilleries Ltd. bought Brodie Hepburn, and they increased the number of stills from two to four between 1973 and 1974, when an extensive rebuilding took place. In 1991, Whyre & Mackay (themselves part of Fortune Brands) would buy Invergordon, and they decided to mothball the distillery in 1995. The future for Tullibardine seemed bleak, but in June 2003, news came that a consortium of experienced whisky men purchased the distillery from Jim Beam (who had absorbed Whyte & MAckay in 1996) for 1.1 million GBP. Production resumed shortly after in December, under the watchful eyes of John Black (formerly of Cardhu, Glenburgie, Miltonduff, Ardbeg, Glencadam, Balblair, Old Pulteney, Auchentoshan, Tormore, Ardmore and Scapa) as manager. Initially they produced at greatly reduced capacity; only using 1 pair of stills, and even that was not continuously. By 2008, the distillery was churning out over 2,000,000 liters yearly, though.
The consortium in turn sold Tullibertine on to a French wine group; Picard Vins & Spiritueux in 2011.
Tullibardine whisky
A 10 Years Old used to be available in the 1990s, but it was never really promoted. Since 2003, a number of different finishes were released.
- 10 Years Old
- 1993; Marsala finish (released in 2004)
- 1993; Muscatel finish (released in 2004)
- 1993; Port finish (released in 2004)
The current core range consists of:
- Sovereign; matured in First Fill ex-Bourbon casks
- 225; Finished in Sauuternes casks
- 228; Finished in Burgundy casks
- 500; Finished in Sherry butts
- 20 Years Old; matured in First Fill ex-Bourbon casks
- 25 Years Old
Distillery info:
| Name | Tullibardine |
| Region | Highland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Water source | Danny Burn |
| Owned by | Picard Vins & Spiritueux |
| Address |
Tullibardine Ltd +44 (0) 1764 661800 |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | http://www.tullibardine.com/ |
| http://twitter.com/Tullidistillery | |
| http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tullibardine-Distillery/125275674224763 | |
| Community | N/A |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 6 tonnes | 1 (Stainless Steel, Full Lauter) |
| Washback | 38,619 litres | 9 (Stainless Steel) |
| Wash still | 15,000 litres | 2 |
| Spirit Still | 11,000 litres | 2 |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 2,700,000 |