Tullibardine 225

Tullibardine 225 Sauternes Cask Finish

1. What they say

A WONDERFUL, RICH WHISKY THAT HAS BEEN MATURED IN FIRST-FILL EX-BOURBON BARRELS, AND FINISHED IN 225 LITRE SAUTERNES CASKS.
https://www.tullibardine.com/signature-range.html

2. Official tasting notes

THIS BEAUTIFULLY GOLDEN TULLIBARDINE HAS HINTS OF CITRUSY LIME ON THE NOSE AND HINTS OF VANILLA AND OATMEAL. ON THE PALATE, THERE IS A TOUCH OF TROPICAL PINEAPPLE AND ZINGY ORANGE ZEST. OUR 225 FINISHES WITH A CREAMY EDGE.

3. Details

ABV 43%
Age NAS
Bottler OB
Bottling 225
Cask Bourbon & Sauternes
Category Single malt scotch whisky
Cost £35
Origin Tullibardine Distillery
Region Highland
Released 2013

4. What I say

I recently took part in a festive and virtual tour and tasting with Tullibardine distillery including a run through examples from their signature range via their Tasting collection set. The focus of the tasting was based around food pairing and exploring the versatility of the Tullibardine core range. Following on from the Tullibardine Sovereign the core range extends through a variety of cask finishes, named after their respective litreage. The first and smallest finishing casks are ex-Sauternes wine barriques at 225 litre capacity.

5. The Whiskyphiles tasting notes

Colour Golden amber (8/20), medium tears and long, fine legs.
Nose Dustier with deeper citrus notes, sweet apple and pear, biscuity cereal malt, some honey, vanilla, orange and lemon peel a touch peppery from the oak.
Taste Sweet, white pear, some peach and apricot, lemon/lime little bit lighter in body, more spiced and drier oak wood, orange peel a little dried, cinnamon and white pepper spice, later some pineapple and vanilla cream.
Finish Medium, drying and woody with honey and syrup sweetness.

6. Overall

I was a big fan of the predecessor to this expression, this one carries the same sweetness and again is a little fatty and oily from Tullibardine’s spirit. This one seems quite light on the impact of the finishing cask and I found myself wishing it went a little further, the end result is a sweeter and fruitier dram with a touch more woody spices too.

The Whiskyphiles

Tullibardine 225