Tullibardine's history as an operating distillery is broken: founded in its modern form in 1949, mothballed by Whyte and Mackay in 1994, and restarted only in 2003 by a private consortium that subsequently sold it to the French group Picard in 2011. Stocks laid down before the silent years are therefore finite, and a 25 Year Old from Blackford is necessarily a reckoning with that vintage material.
This expression is matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 43%. It is the oldest core entry in the distillery's range and represents what a quarter century of patient Highland maturation can do to Tullibardine's clean, slightly waxy distillate.
The nose carries the unmistakable beeswax note that long bourbon-cask ageing brings to certain Highland spirits, with candied citrus and stewed orchard fruit. The palate is fuller than the younger expressions, with toffee, dried tropical fruit and a warming ginger spice giving way to a pronounced oak. The finish is long and drying, the wood more than the spirit having the last word.
It is a serious bottling, and one that rewards slow consideration. The oak influence is firm and the strength modest, so a few drops of water release further fruit. For those tracking the rebirth of Tullibardine, this offers a window onto the spirit that was sleeping while the stills stood cold.
