Tullibardine 18 Years Old 2005 (Liquid Art)

Liquid Art bottled this Tullibardine single malt, an 18 year old release from 2005 and bottled at 52.9%. A release of 125 bottles. Tullibardine was opened in 1949 in Perthshire, off the A9; it is owned by the French wine house Picard. It was founded by the distillery architect William Delme-Evans, the first new distillery in Scotland after the war.

The spirit was made in copper stills for a soft, fruity make, for a fruity, mellow make. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending honey and vanilla. Around the mid teens the malt gains a fuller honey and a riper fruit. Bourbon wood frames the make with vanilla, the wine casks adding fruit. Under French wine ownership the distillery has leaned into its cask finishes. The Murray and Custodian's Collections gather its older and rarer bottlings. Blackford's spring water has drawn brewers and distillers to the village for centuries.

At a full 52.9% it is bold yet honeyed. Vanilla and a light toffee from the barrel, with pear, honey and a malty note. The texture is soft and round, the fruit lifted by honey. Toffee, honey and a soft oak see out the finish. This is Tullibardine's fruity Highland style.