Tullibardine 2012 Cask #SC9A (The Firkin Whisky Co. Ltd.)

This Tullibardine was chosen and bottled by The Firkin Whisky Co. Ltd from 2012, drawn from cask SC9A and bottled at 48.9%. Tullibardine, first built in 1949 in the southern Highlands near Gleneagles, is known for its wine cask finishes. Mothballed in 1994, the distillery was revived in 2003 and bought by the French wine house Picard in 2011.

The spirit was run through the distillery's compact copper stills, to build a honeyed, malty character. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the honeyed malt. No age is given, but the honeyed softness marks it as Tullibardine. The honeyed spirit makes a fine base for a fortified or wine cask. The name comes from the Gaelic for lookout hill, after a hill once used to watch for strangers. It is one of few distilleries to distil, mature and bottle entirely on the one site. Delme-Evans, a noted gravity flow designer, also drew up the Jura and GlenAllachie distilleries.

At 48.9%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. Sherried dried fruit and a nutty edge come through, and a soft, fruity vanilla meet soft vanilla and honey from the cask. Beneath it run honey, toffee and a soft spice. A honeyed, lightly spiced finish lingers. This is a soft, honeyed Highland single malt.