The sixth whisky by Dràm Mòr is the 5-year-old Tullibardine, a Highland distillery south-west of Blackford, and a keen eye might think “Sixth? This would be the fourth, where did you learn to count?”, and that is absolutely correct – I have two more Dràm Mòr samples waiting in front of me that I should have reviewed before this one, but since this is from their Christmas release, I decided to switch it up a little.
It has been matured in a first-fill oloroso sherry cask for five years, bottled at 56 % and yielded a total of 355 bottles. It is available to purchase from select locations.
Nose
I am getting a light nose on this whisky. The first note I am finding in this whisky is prunes, raisins, treacle, dark red fruits, honey and a slightly bitter woody note. It feels very much like a “dark and heavy” whisky if I should judge by the nose alone, a true “sherry bomb” as one might call it.
Palate
The alcohol is quite harsh in this youngster. Behind the alcohol I am getting oak notes from the cask, slightly burnt caramel, dried fruits – like prunes, raisins, dark red fruits, those dark typical sherry notes. I am also getting an unfamiliar yeasty note, which I am unable to describe.
Finish
The finish on this Tullibardine is medium long. I am getting a typical oloroso finish with raisins, stewed dark fruits, but it is leaving a strange feeling of having licked a battery on the sides of my tongue. It is not unpleasant, just strange. There are remnants of the yeasty note, an ever so slight floral hint and some tobacco and dark chocolate far, far in the back.
I am finding this whisky quite hard to describe and very interesting, in a very good way. Had I nosed this whisky blind, I would have bet my soul on it being a full fledged sherry, not a whisky, that how much the sherry maturing has done to it. It is the first Tullibardine I have tasted, so I don’t have anything to compare with, but I would have loved to revisit this whisky after maybe five more years in the cask! And I would love to taste more from Tullibardine.
Cask #9900098
First-fill Oloroso Sherry
ABV: 56 %
Country: Scotland
Dràm Mòr Group Ltd. are family Scotch single cask whisky bottlers, choosing individual casks to showcase the best of every Scottish whisky, originating from the once highly influential town of Dumbarton, which rests in the shadow of its iconic Rock, Dumbarton’s medieval Castle, an ancient capital of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, and which boasts such whisky legacy as Ballantine’s and is home to Pernod Ricard’s Chivas.
A huge thanks to Dràm Mòr for kindly sending me this sample.
Tasting notes and opinions about this release are strictly my own.
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