Apple

Tullibardine 228

Tullibardine 228

Nestled in the town of Blackford and surrounded by the Ochil Hills, Tullibardine (Gaelic – lookout hill) was converted from an old brewery and began distilling in 1949, making it a relatively young distillery. Blackford is a sort of gateway to the highlands, and for many years Tullibardine simply matured their offerings in sherry casks. At some point along the way, however, they have begun taking their base offering and providing a series of different finishes in the final year of aging (currently Sauternes, Burgundy and Sherry). With the Tullibardine 228, the number denotes the liters the cask held. Burgundy is not a finish seen terribly often with whiskies, so we are very curious to to see what this single malt offers. Recently, these whiskies have been discontinued and a new core range offered. 

Stronachie 12 Year

Stronachie 12 Year

This Scotch has a complicated history. Stronachie was a distillery near the town of Forgandenny that closed in 1928. The firm that represented the distillery in Scotland, A. D. Rattray, decided to bring the name back with a new offering in the early 2000s. The whisky that’s actually in the bottle of this current iteration, however, is from the distillery of Benrinnes. So even though the original Stronachie was a highland malt, the whisky actually in the bottle today comes from a Speyside distillery. While confusing at first, taste-testing of a rare bottle from the original distillery actually matched better to a Speyside, as the process of making whisky has changed over the centuries. So, less confusing. History and sourcing aside, however, the chief question is…how does such an echo of bygone times taste?

Oban Distillers Edition

Oban Distillers Edition

We didn’t write a review for the Oban Distillers Edition until almost a year after buying the bottle because of a very simple reason: we drank the damn thing too fast. It was gone before we could put proverbial pen to paper! By common consensus, this was the first club’s favorite. Hence, we decided to treat ourselves to an early Christmas and revisited something we know we enjoy. The bonus is that it now enables us to put our glasses down long enough to write a review. Barely. This is a unique expression from an already storied distillery.