Tullibardine 33 Years Old 1989 Old & Rare A Platinum Selection (Hunter Laing)

Single malt Tullibardine, an independent Hunter Laing bottling, aged 33 year old from 1989 and bottled at 49.9%. Just 415 bottles were filled. Tullibardine was first built in 1949 beneath the Ochil Hills at Blackford, and it is known for its wine cask finishes. The name is Gaelic for lookout hill, after a nearby hill once used to watch for approaching strangers.

Distilled on soft Highland spring water, building the gentle Tullibardine style. A sherry cask wrapped the soft spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Decades leave it deep and gentle, waxy honey and dried fruit with great age. The soft, fruity spirit takes a wine finish particularly well, in the Picard house style. 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 cask strength 49.9% it is full bodied. Raisin and a nutty sherry depth build, and vanilla, toffee and orchard fruit meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Soft orchard fruit and vanilla sit behind the sweetness. It closes soft, honeyed and warm. This is the soft Highland malt of Blackford.