Tullibardine 228 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland (Central)

Brand: Tullibardine

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 43 %

Colour: Reddish Gold (Ruby)

Nose: Plain German Butter Biscuits (Butterkekse), Red Grape Juice, Malt, Honey, Red Fruit, Oak, Vanilla and light Spices. It's still a rather young Whisky and Alcohol, Wood and Spirit are not (yet) fully integrated. 

Palate: Red Fruit (Berries), Malt, Apple Pie with Nuts and Vanilla Sauce,  Oak, Honey, Toffee, Pepper and Woodspice.

Finish: Middle-Long and quite dry with Oak, Vanilla, Pepper, Red Fruit, Malt and a hint of Apricot Marmalade towards the end

With a bit of Water the Red Wine/Red Grape Juice Notes on the Nose become stronger. The Alcohol retreats of course and that improves the Balance. Palate and Finish don't benefit from Water however. When you do add some water though, be careful to add just a few drops at a time.

Rating: 83.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: The 228 is a Tullibardine Distillery Bottling. I would guess it matured for 5-7 years in Ex-Bourbon Casks. Before being bottled in 2013, it was finished for an additional 12 months in a 228-litre Red Burgundy Wine Cask from Chateau de Chassagne Montrachet. It costs around 55 US Dollars.

The Tullibardine Distillery was founded in 1949 and is located in Blackford (Perthshire) on the site of a former Brewery. In 1995, Tullibardine was mothballed by Whyte & Mackay, the owners at that time. Production was resumed in 2003 when the distillery was sold to Tullibardine Distillery Ltd. In 2011, the French Maison Michel Picard from Chassagne Montrachet became the new owner.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: You will know by now that I'm not much of a fan of Red Wine Finishing. Let Wine be Wine and Whisky be Whisky! In this case I have the feeling that the Chassagne Montrachet masks some of the imperfections of the relatively young Tullibardine Spirit. Still, this Single Malt is quite drinkable and I really enjoyed the Butterkeks note, especially when I first opened the sample. So if you are a fan of Red Wine Finished Whisky you could give this one a try as it's reasonably priced.

Jan van den Ende                                                                  June 12, 2013