An interview at Tullibardine 

John, might I first say a big thanks to all the staff who looked after our guests from Sweden recently, also looking after myself and Liz with sample drams and cups of tea!

Q; With properties becoming available next door to the distillery, I know there are huge plans to expand, can you tell me what plans and a timescale?    A; It is a little early to talk about our plans in detail, however we will be looking at the possibility of adding additional warehousing and potentially bottling to the distillery.

Q; Will you be adding more stills?

A; We are happy with the level of production that we are achieving at this time.

Q; Staying with stills, what age are your stills just now and when would you look to replace?

A;  We have a regular maintenance program in place for our stills and so this is not something which we are currently looking at.

Q;  How will the new developments affect production?

A; With the plans that we are looking at for the site there would be no effect on production.

Q; Can we move to the actual whisky, many readers/members will not know just how many brands you have and how many different expressions you release, can you elaborate?

A;  Tullibardine has a core range of Tullibardine Sovereign, which is our signature malt, and three finishes – 225 (Sauternes), 228 (Burgundy) and 500 (Sherry).  We then also have a 20yo and 25yo expression.  We also own the Highland Queen and Muirhead’s brands of Scotch Whisky, which are widely distributed around the world.

Q; On a personal note, and for all drivers, will future plans include a coffee shop/restaurant?

A; We are focused on our whisky, so it is unlikely that we will put in a full coffee shop.  Tea or coffee are also available though for drivers at our visitor centre.

Q; Whilst there last week, I saw this fabulous bottle for £16,000, can you tell me all about this release please?

A;  We are in the process of launching the Tullibardine Custodian’s Collection, which is our exclusive super premium range.  Whiskies in the collection have a minimum age of 40 years, and are all bottled in the Custodian’s Decanter which has been handcrafted for us by Baccarat.  The whisky you saw is the Tullibardine 1952, which is bottled from the oldest cask that we own and is the first product in the collection, which will be officially released later this year.  The whisky is 60 years old.  We will also be introducing the Custodian’s Club at the same time, which is our exclusive distillery membership club.

Q; What is the oldest cask you have in the warehouses at the moment?  And do you have any plans for it?

A;1952 – which is being officially bottled later this year as the first product in the Custodian’s Collection.

Q; There are many finishes on offer from the distillery, is this something you may be doing more of in the coming years?

A;  There are only three finishes which are part of the core range.  We have no plans to introduce any more at this point.

Q; We all know that casks play a huge part in the final whisky, where do you obtain/select casks from?

A; All of the whisky for the Tullibardine brand is aged in first fill bourbon barrels.  Today we buy these directly from a source in the US to ensure that we control the quality of the wood that we are using.

Q; Do you feel awards and good write ups in books and magazines actually affect sales?

A; They definitely help the process and give reassurance to both the distiller and the consumer.

Q;How do you see the whisky industry advancing in the coming years?

A; The industry continues to develop strongly, and there is still great potential in many of the emerging markets which give us a very positive outlook for the future.

Q; Finally, at the end of the day, you sit down and relax with a dram – what dram would you select?

A; Tullibardine Sovereign!

John, many thanks for your time and we hope to see you again soon, as we bring our tours in to visit Tullibardine.

You can find out more on this Perthshire distillery at www.tullibardine.com

Should your group, club, or business wish to take a tour here, we can assist; www.mcleanscotland.com