Yesterday evening, I partook in a Twitter tasting with 3 different editions of the Tullibardine distillery. I only tasted one Tullibardine before and have not even taken tasting notes of that one yet. The evening was a huge success with heaps of tweets. So many, you couldn’t even read them all.
The evening was organized by DH17 Slijterijen, the same club that was part of the organization of the Zuidam Distillers visit of last Sunday. They sent out samples over the past week and they all arrived in time. Great organization and kudos to them!
Tullibardine Aged Oak 40%
The nose starts with wet boat sails, wax coats and glue. Nasty to be honest. There is some hidden sweetness and fruit, tinned pears. Some old wood as well. The mouth feel is quite sticky and a bit greasy, strong tea too. With a bit of water it becomes a bit like a fruit infused vodka. Its quite spirity and it tastes young. Also very malty.
Tullibardine 1993 Vintage, 40%
The spirity part is gone, which is a good thing. I found it oddly resembling peach cores. Disaronno was what Danny said and that seems fitting. The taste is more fruity as well. A bit more spicy with pepper, some wood and fruit. “Rounded” as some call it. Disgusting term 
The finish is still a bit youngish, with little to no wood influences. Soft and fruity but I also pick up some tree bark. Might be cinnamon.
Tullibardine 1992-2010, Premier Cru Classe Finish, 46%
Its PINK!?! I only tasted one pink whisky that was any good, and that was the rather terrific Octomore Orpheus. It does not bode well… The scent starts with peardrops and red wine gums. A bit of water brings European oak and some dried fruits. On the palate I got dried forest fruit. A little bitter and quite a lot of wood in this one. The finish has something ‘green’ but that goes away very quickly and gives way to more oak. After a while the winey smell goes away from the nose and a lot more sherry appears. That disappears again after about 15 minutes, and then it gets pretty bad.
After tasting these three Tullibardines, I’m not convinced about the distillery. I appreciate that they are a little fish in a big pond and they do what they think is best without compromises, but I have to taste my first really convicing one yet.
In this case, all credits go to Elize and Wouter of DH17!
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