About Tullibardine Distillery
Tullibardine is a Highland distillery at Blackford beneath the Ochil Hills. Its modern plant was designed by William Delmé-Evans on the former Gleneagles Brewery site after the Second World War and began production in 1949. The location has much older brewing and brief distilling histories, but those predecessors are separate from the current distillery.
Four stills, extensive warehousing, an on-site cooperage, blending facilities and a bottling line give Tullibardine control over almost every stage except malting. Its whisky is generally floral, malty and nutty, with a broad finishing programme influenced by the current owner's wine connections.
History
Blackford's brewing record reaches at least to 1488, when James IV bought ale after his coronation journey. This event explains the date and crown associated with Tullibardine branding, but it was a brewery purchase rather than evidence that the present distillery existed. Short-lived distilleries bearing the Tullibardine name operated from 1798 and again from 1814 to 1837.
The Gleneagles Brewery survived into the twentieth century before closing in 1927. Delmé-Evans acquired the site and recognised the value of water draining the Ochils. He designed a new distillery that began production in 1949, the first new Scotch distillery built since the start of the century. Blender Brodie Hepburn bought it in 1953, followed by Invergordon Distillers in 1971. A second pair of stills was added in 1973.
Whyte & Mackay acquired Invergordon, and production stopped around 1993–94; official and specialist histories differ by a year because one dates the start of silence and the other the formal mothballing. A private consortium bought and restarted Tullibardine in 2003, funding revival partly through redevelopment of surplus land and beginning extensive re-casking of inherited stock. French family-owned Picard Vins & Spiritueux, now associated with Terroirs Distillers, acquired the business in 2011 and invested in wood, bottling and integrated site operations.
What makes it distinctive
Water is drawn from the Danny Burn and springs in the Ochil Hills, an aquifer also important to bottled-water production around Blackford. A Porteus mill prepares malt for mashing, and ten washbacks feed two wash stills and two spirit stills. The present spirit regime favours floral and fruit notes while retaining cereal and nut weight.
Maturation begins commonly in American oak, with sherry, Burgundy, Sauternes and other wine casks used for full maturation or finishing. The connection with a French wine-and-spirits owner provides cask access, but each release should be judged by its stated wood rather than assuming every Tullibardine is wine-finished. On-site warehousing and cooperage allow casks to be monitored and repaired without outsourcing those stages.
Whisky character and significance
Tullibardine can show barley sugar, apple, vanilla, almonds and gentle floral notes. Bourbon wood keeps the style bright; sherry or wine finishes add dried fruit, berries, honey or tannic spice. Older stock may reflect the pre-closure production regime and tired refill casks differently from whisky distilled after the 2003 restart.
Visiting Tullibardine Distillery
Visitors can learn about the working stillhouse, warehousing and maturation through bookable experiences. Current tours, tastings and accessible routes should be confirmed directly. The modern distillery shares its wider site with later commercial development, so exterior context differs from a remote estate distillery.
Location and surrounding area
Blackford lies close to the A9 between Stirling and Perth, below the Ochil Hills. Nearby Auchterarder, Gleneagles and walking country make the site easy to combine with central Scotland travel, but responsible transport remains necessary after tastings.
- Whisky region
- Highlands
- Location
- Blackford, Perthshire, PH4 1QG
- Visitor information
- Check the official website for current tours, tastings, access and booking arrangements.
Further information
Visit the official Tullibardine Distillery website
Tullibardine: official history
Tullibardine: official distillery information