Tullibardine Distillery
Blackford, Perthshire, PH4 1QG, Scotland
Tel: +44 (0)1764 682252 / Fax: Fax: +44 (0)1764 682330
Viewer's Comments about Tullibardine

Tullibardine History Tullibardine Distillery is situated in the village of Blackford in Perthshire and lies on the site of Scotland's oldest brewery dating back to the twelfth century. The village of Blackford was given the name as far back as the 10th century when the wife of the Nordic King Magnus, reputedly fell off her horse and drowned while crossing a 'ford' in the area. The tragedy was said to have deeply affected the king and the area was referred to hereafter as 'black ford' or as it is now known as Blackford. A mound, which can be seen from the grounds of the distillery, reputedly depicts where Queen Helen was buried and is known locally within the village as 'deaf knowe' due to the fact that if someone shouts from one side of the hill they cannot be heard on the other side.

12th Century – The Brewing of Beer Begins Fortunately for the village, its reputation was not blighted forever more. As Queen Helen experienced, the village accessed a pure and plentiful supply of spring water which streamed off the nearby Ochil Hills. This water, recognised for its purity and quality was to put Blackford on the map for a different reason. It was to become associated with the making of beer and was the site of the first public brewery in Scotland. The importance of this supply was widely recognised and was the principle reason that the village could boast of having no less than 3 breweries operating at one time, all drawing water from the same source.

15th Century – A Coronation Beer Yet more recognition was to be bestowed on the village when in year 1488, King James IV purchased beer from the brewery which stood on the site of the now Tullibardine Distillery following his coronation at Scone. James IV was to become one of the best known late medieval Scottish rulers and ruled for 25 years eventually being slain at the battle of Flodden on the 9th of September 1513.

20th Century – Tullibardine Becomes First Distillery in 20th Century During the early part of the 20th century, the brewery on site of the distillery fell upon hard times and was used for a variety of purposes. What had not changed, and to this day remains the same, was the plentiful supply of crystal pure spring water which continually flowed past the brewery from the Ochil hills above.

In 1947, a Welshman by the name of William Delme Evans purchased the brewery with a view to converting it to a distillery with the original capital being supplied by friends and relatives. Delme Evans was an engineer to trade and designed the distillery to maximise efficiency initially using nature, and latterly science, where necessary. The distillery was built under very difficult circumstances as material was under licence and building and construction work at that time was subject to severe building controls. However, in 1949, Tullibardine distillery produced spirit for the first time and ran under Delme Evans ownership until 1953 where failing health forced him to sell it to the company of Brodie Hepburn. Throughout his time at Tullibardine he was assisted in the project by Mr C I Barrett, a retired Excise Officer who had considerable experience of Highland Malt Distilleries. Mr Barrett was subsequently manager of Tullibardine Distillery until 1958.

To this day, examples of Delme Evans design are still in use at the distillery. Cooling water for the distillery still continues to flow over the top of the condensers using only gravitational force and the heat generated within the distillery is extracted using two condensers as opposed to the traditional one to maximise heat exchange and reduce unnecessary waste. Delme Evan was never really given the credit he deserved for his ground breaking and influential work at Tullibardine and despite going on to help design the Jura and Glenallachie distilleries, his true passion until his death in 2003 remained Tullibardine.

In 1994 Whyte and Mackay, who had acquired the distillery from Invergordon Distillers, decided to mothball Tullibardine Distillery along with various other distilleries due to an excess of distillation capacity within their company. Tullibardine lay silent until it was purchased in 2003 under private ownership.

Courtesy of Tullibardine Distillery

Tullibardine Distillery nestles at the foot of the Ochil Hills in Perthshire, where the Highlands of Scotland begin. These hills are renowned for the crystal purity of their spring water.

The Distillery draws its water from the same source which fed the first public brewery in Scotland and from where King James IV purchased beer to celebrate his coronation in 1488. Today Tullibardine (built on the site of the brewery) reigns supreme as a fine malt whisky of majestic qualities. It is considered "Eminently quaffable".

Distillery records show the original capacity of the distillery was '35,000 proof gallons per annum' by 1953. The distillery was increased in capacity over the following years through various measures with each change being based on the efficiency principles laid down by Delme Evans. In 1971, Tullibardine was purchased by Invergordon Distillers and two years later, in 1973, the distillery was again increased in capacity through repositioning the existing stills and adding two additional stills, duplicates of the existing pair. At its peak production, Tullibardine Distillery employed 15 men.

21st Century The distillery lay dormant until the June of 2003 when it was bought along with the existing stock of Tullibardine whisky. This was a long and difficult purchase involving many different parties all coming together to enable the distillery to be reopened. In the December of 2003, Tullibardine distillery once again fired up the boiler and spirit flowed from the stills for the first time in nearly nine years. Throughout the re-commissioning process, care was taken to maintain as many of the traditional methods of production as possible and utilise the skills of the distillery manager and operators in producing the Tullibardine spirit. The care, attention to detail and passion which is instilled by the team at Tullibardine has resulted in the production of a superb spirit which is laid to rest in the finest casks available. Now that we are up and running, we will produce enough spirit for our future needs and those of our customers. This is not an easy projection to make as we do not know how popular Tullibardine will be in years to come but what we can ensure is that it is as good as we can make it.

Distillery Tours
Join us for a short but informative distillery tour and enjoy a taste of our whisky. Tours run throughout the day, 7 days a week and take approx 1/2 hour (generally from 10am to 4pm on the hour every day). This is a working distillery so disabled access is restricted to the nosing and tasting room, shop and Café 1488. Group rate available on request (must be pre-booked). Children must be over 5 to go on tour and must be accompanied by an adult.

Connoisseur Tours
Tours must be pre-booked and take up to 2 hours. These are more in-depth, allowing nosing straight from the cask, tour of our bonded warehouse and tasting of a range of vintages (subject to availability). Do you have something else in mind? Let us know and we will endeavour to accommodate you.

Opening Times & Frequency
The Tullibardine Distillery is open 7 days a week from 10am to 5pm. Tours are generally from 10am to 4pm on the hour every day.

Tour Cost
Standard Tour: Adults £5.00, Groups (10+ people) £4.00, Senior Citizens & Students £3.00, Under 18’s (no nosing & tasting) £2.00
Family (up to 5 people & must include 1 adult) £13.00.

The Standard Tour takes approximately ¾ hour and is suitable if you have never toured a distillery or want to see another one. This includes nosing (a sensory lesson) and a taste of 2 of our single malts (over 18s only); other tastes can be purchased for an additional cost, please ask for details or see below under ‘Tullibardine Bar’. Children (over 5’s) are welcome and can take part in our quiz during the tour.

Specialised
Tutored Tasting £7.50, Bonded Tour £15.00, Connoisseur Tour £25.00.

Tutored Tasting: Relax and enjoy three different expressions of The Tullibardine Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The nosing and tasting will be held in our Tasting Room and you will be guided through each whisky step-by-step for the full whisky experience, please allow approximately ½ hour.

Bonded Tour: Whether you are a whisky enthusiast or whisky novice you would like to spend a little more time getting to know more about the skill and time that goes into the making of Tullibardine Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Chances are you have been round various distilleries and have knowledge of the process but want to get your teeth into the behind the scenes work that goes on, well this one is for you! This tour takes approx. 1½ hours and gives you the full experience of the skill and effort that goes into creating The Tullibardine Single Malt Whisky. The tour will end in our tasting room, where you will nose and sample 3 of our Tullibardine Whiskies. Please note that this tour must be pre-booked at least 24 hours in advance, subject to availability.

Connoisseur Tour: This more in-depth tour for the aficionado takes around 2 hours will take you around the distillery and into the bonded warehouse where our guide will pull a whisky (or two) straight from a cask for nosing. Afterwards, you will be taken to the tasting room for a tutored tasting of the Tullibardine Range. Please note that this tour must be pre-booked at least 48 hours in advance, subject to availability

* A non-refundable deposit of £10 per head is required for Bonded and Connoisseur Tours.

“Tullibardine Bar” Interested in buying a bottle? Just fancy a wee taste? We are here to help. We have the full range of Tullibardine available for you to taste. Just ask one of our members of staff and we will be more than happy to take you down to our tasting room where you can sample your whisky in style. All our whiskies are available from £2 per dram.

Parking
Ample free car parking is available.

Handicapped Facilities
Handicapped as well as baby changing facilities are available.

Visitor Centre & Retail Shop
In November 2004, Tullibardine opened the doors of the distillery and new visitor centre to the public. This is a small part of one of the best out-of-town retail locations in Scotland, the other retail units later opened offering visitors a unique Scottish experience. The new centre offers unforgettable tours of the distillery by experienced guides as well as connoisseur tours with the vastly experienced Distillery Manager.

The new retail shop has a distinctively Scottish influence, providing a range of unique gifts, accessories and seasonal products, such as glassware, pottery, fabrics, hand-made wood products and luxurious soaps and cosmetics. The licensed restaurant, Cafe 1488, uses only the freshest local ingredients to create a delicious range of soups, hot and cold sandwiches and home baked products. Along with a range of fine quality tea, Starbucks coffee, ales, whisky and soft drinks.

We consider Tullibardine to be the 'delicatessen' in a world of supermarkets. We are a very small company who are intensely passionate about what we do, producing a unique quality product for sale to a discerning customer. By chance however, we are the most accessible distillery in Scotland being on the doorstep of Gleneagles and within 45 minutes drive north of Glasgow and Edinburgh. We extend a warm welcome to all of our customers and look forward to welcoming you personally, if not then 'virtually', to our distillery.

The Tullibardine Team
Tullibardine distillery was purchased on the 17th June 2003 by a group of four individuals with a passion for business and whisky. The group had been working on the purchase of the distillery for a few years prior to eventually bringing the deal together and were delighted to achieve their long held dream of bringing the distillery back on stream and resurrecting the Tullibardine brand.

Shortly after purchasing the distillery, John Black joined the company as the distillery manager. John has literally spent his whole life at distilleries having been born at Cardhu Distillery in Speyside and spent the rest of his working life running and managing distilleries. John has worked tirelessly at the task of bringing Tullibardine back to life and has brought all of his years of skill and experience to bear in the resurrection of the distillery. John is assisted in his role by David Myles and 6 others.

David Myles has brought a wealth of experience to Tullibardine and has recently been promoted to production manager. Prior to joining Tullibardine he had worked with Burns Stewart Distillers plc since 1990 and his various roles of warehouse operative to stillman, chargehand and mashman have stood him in good stead for his role.

Contact Us
Tullibardine Distillery
Blackford, Perthshire, PH4 1QG, Scotland
Tel: +44 (0)1764 682252 / Fax: Fax: +44 (0)1764 682330
Email: Tullibardine Distillery

Courtesy of Tullibardine Distillery