Tullibardine 500

Tullibardine 500 Sherry Cask Finish

1. What they say

MATURED IN FIRST-FILL EX-BOURBON BARRELS AND THEN FOR A PERIOD OF TIME IN 500 LITRE SPANISH SHERRY BUTTS, WHICH GIVES THIS TULLIBARDINE ITS NUTTY BROWN COLOUR.
https://www.tullibardine.com/signature-range.html

2. Official tasting notes

THERE ARE INTENSE TOFFEE APPLE NOTES ON THE NOSE WITH A HINT OF OATMEAL. THESE NOTES THEN COMBINE WITH A VISCOUS SPICY FEEL AND SWEET DATES ON THE FINISH.

3. Details

ABV 43%
Age NAS
Bottler OB
Bottling 500
Cask Bourbon & Sherry
Category Single malt scotch whisky
Cost £35-£40
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. Finally in this series the 500 Sherry Cask, or Butt, finish, reportedly for 12 months.

5. The Whiskyphiles tasting notes

Colour Ruby bronze (13/20), medium-large tears and legs.
Nose Dusty and fruity, red fruits, red apple skin, cereal barley malt, muscovado sugar, toffee apples and baking spices, cinnamon, nutmeg.
Taste Medium-bodied, red apples lead with some dried fruits also, raisin, strudel, fruit cake, becomes a touch woody, nutty almonds, red berries and dates in honey, cinnamon sticks.
Finish Medium long, raisins, treacle toffee and cinnamon.

6. Overall

My favourite of the tasting – I guess no surprises there! I guess like the whole range I felt this was a bit safe and unchallenging. I’d prefer a bit more strength or depth to some of the finishing flavours – but perhaps that’s just my palate and predilections. The whole range is quite polished and well put together, meaning accessibility and joy for newcomers. Thankfully Tullibardine have extended their signature and other ranges greatly since these were released in 2013 and I guess I should be exploring these more myself.

The Whiskyphiles

Tullibardine 500