Tullibardine 2014 IN2S (IN2Spirit (IN2S))

This is a Tullibardine single malt, selected and bottled by IN2Spirit (IN2S), aged 9 year old from 2014, drawn from cask 49129 and bottled at 49.3%. Just 114 bottles were filled. Tullibardine was established in 1949 in Blackford, on the edge of the Highlands, and it distils, matures and bottles on one site. It stands on a site with five hundred years of brewing; King James IV bought ale at Blackford in 1488.

It was drawn off copper pot stills fed by the Danny Burn, for a soft, vanilla scented spirit. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the honeyed malt. At a youthful age the fruit is gentle and the malt soft. Years in oak round the spirit, the honey and soft fruit deepening with age. Its water rises in the Ochil Hills, the same source that feeds the Highland Spring brand. After lean years and a long silence, private investors brought the distillery back to life in 2003.

At 49.3%, undiluted, it is deep and fruity. The Pedro Ximenez lends raisin, date and treacle, and a gentle vanilla from the wood, with pear, honey and a malty note. The texture is soft and round, the fruit lifted by honey. A long, honeyed finish carries a fruity lift. This is Tullibardine's fruity Highland style.