Brodie Hepburn were themselves bought by Invergordon two
decades later in 1971. In 1993 Whyte & Mackay (subsidiaries
of Fortune Brands) gobbled up Invergordon. Whyte & Mackay
changed their name JBB (Greater Europe) in 1996, before
they decided to change their name to Kyndal in 2001.

The picture at the right shows that Tullibardine isn't the most
'picturesque' distillery in Scotland. In fact, it may seem a bit run
down - but it's actually one of the younger Scottish distilleries.
It was founded in 1949 by the architect William Delmé-Evans
and C. I. Barrett. In 1953 the Tullibardine distillery was sold on
to Brodie Hepburn Ltd. - whisky brokers from Glasgow.

Confused already? well, I'm not quite finished yet, I'm afraid...
In 2003 the people of Kyndal decided they actually liked the name 'Whyte & Mackay' better.
Meanwhile, the Tullibardine distillery had already been mothballed in January 1995, when Whyte & Mackay was still called... erm... Whyte & Mackay. Around the time Kyndal switched back to the name Whyte & Mackay again, they had just sold Tullibardine to Tullibardine Distillery Ltd. for (allegedly) 1,100,000 GBP. That seems like a friendly price, given the impressive production capacity at Tullibardine. But then again, in recent times they haven't operated at full capacity.
 
In fact, after production resumed in December 2003 they only produced at 'Disney' levels for some time. When Invergordon rebuilt Tullibardine in 1973/'74 they increased the number of stills from two to four, but now only one of the pairs of stills was being used - and only part time.

However, these days they have expanded the work week from
five to seven days and they hoped to produce 2,000,000 litres
in 2008. Just like Edradour and Glenmorangie they've jumped
on the finishing bandwagon - and it seems to serve the spirit
well. It also allows the new owners to 'shape' the whiskies.
After all, all the current stocks were made by previous owners.

I have to admit that the type of whisky they made in the old
days wasn't really to my liking. Most Tullibardines I tried in the
late 1990's and early noughties had an oily 'cod oil' trait that
I'm mentally allergic to. Some of the finishes managed to
mask most of the oil, enhancing my personal enjoyment.

But then again - perhaps 'house styles' are gradually becoming a thing of the past anyway...
When I discovered single malts in the 1990's most other maltheads seemed interested in the category of whisky rather
than specific 'brands'. That means that the general focus seemed to be on trying to discover as many different styles
and distilleries as possible. Nowadays more and more blend drinkers are upgrading to single malts, and they're already
used to drinking 'brands' rather than different types and styles of whisky. So, more and more distilleries are trying to
provide as broad a range as possible. I have to admit I don't mind too much; the classic regional styles and 'house
styles'

The picture above shows the 'old' Tullibardine 10 that was available in the 1990's.
The new design of the 'standard' releases is shown at the right; although some of
the finished releases are packaged a little more elaborately. Tullibardine released
three different finished 'Vintage 1993' bottlings in 2005 (a marsala finish, a muscatel
finish and a port finish) and a further five finishes in 2007.
 
Like other 'relaunches' like Benriach and Bruichladdich, Tullibardine has released an
overload of different bottlings lately. That makes most of their bottlings very limited
releases by definition - and it's hard to discover a 'house style' within a portfolio.

1) The first Tullibardines produced by the current owners will be released around 2014.

2) The history of Tullibardine is rather similar to that of Tamnavulin. They were also founded failry recently (1966), have been owned by Invergordon / Whyte & Mackay / Kyndal and were mothballed in 1995.
Both were recently ressurrected with the help of foreign capital.

3) Tullibardine was a disused brewery when it was 'discovered' by architect William Delmé-Evans.

4) More trivia will be added later...
 

Here's are my notes on a few OB's and a selection of my personal favourite independent bottlings.
Well, actually - in the case of Tullibardine there are just a few expressions I consider 'favourites'...
 

Tullibardine 10yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 1995, 70cl)
Nose: Ooh. Very oily. Olive oil and vegetables. Hint of salt and smoke - growing stronger.
It grows sweeter with time. Nutty. At first sight a little like Isle of Jura, Tobermory or Loch Lomond.
Taste: Weak and watery. Creamy. Sweeter over time. Oily. Gritty and peppery later on.
Dry and a little astringent in the finish. Not really my style, although the bottle improved after breathing.
Score: 70 points - but I should point out that I had it at 61 points right after opening the bottle.

Tullibardine 10yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 1998, 70cl)
Nose: Quite soft; a bit like cod-oil. Overcooked vegetables and some smoke.
It reminded me a little of the Isle of Jura 10yo - another oily one. Almost 'Irish' in style, so gentle.
Taste: Starts off with a mild and distinctive sweetness, but ends very astringent with a tannine-like dryness.
Score: 64 points - x

Tullibardine 1993/2004 (40%, OB - one of the first releases of the new owners)
Nose: Sweet. Quite nice, actually. Nothing very interesting, but here's a light and accessible whisky.
Taste: Sweet and not too oily or herbal. Well, there's a smidgen iin the finish, but here it's balanced.
Score: 70 points - this might be my first young Tullibardine that scores in the seventies.

Tullibardine 13yo 1989/2003 (59.8%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, Bottled June 2003, 276 Bottles)
Nose: A very distinctive sweet liquorice aroma. It's quite light. A tad buttery with faint spices.
Vaguely nutty. After a while sour elements take over. Cheap vinegar. Sour apple?
Taste: I tasted nothing. This was completely and utterly flat - even at almost 60%.
Score: 53 points - The lack of power at this ABV dragged the score down to 53 points.

Tullibardine 15yo 1989/2004 (49.8%, Hart Bros, D. 04/'89)
Nose: Some farmy notes. And oil, just as I was expecting. Beerish. Some vague and hesitant spices.
String beans? Butter? Perhaps something vagualy metallic. Complex enough, but not my kind of malt.
Taste: Smooth and almost sweet for a few seconds. Slick. The sweetness retreats and returns again.
Quite some tannins in the finish. This has an odd liqueurish quality to it. Not MOTR, that's for sure.
Score: 65 points - I had it in the upper 60's for most of the time, but the finish dragged it down.

Tullibardine 1988 (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004 - one of the first releases of the new owners)
Nose: Restrained. Hint of oil. Maybe a suggestion of sweetness. Alarming lack of character.
Taste: Phew... Feels a bit like fresh spirit. Rough. Dry, gritty finish. They chose to release this?
Score: 57 points - once again a Tullibardine bottling manages to disappoint me... What a surprise...

Tullibardine 17yo 1988/2005 (57.1%, Blackadder RC, Sherry Butt #269, 539 Bts.)
Nose: Starts our restrained like the 1988 OB, but grows farmier with time and a little water.
Taste: Big and spicy at cask strength. Coffee? Very enjoyable. Wow, this IS a surprise!
Score: 83 points - not quite expressive and complex enough in the nose to reach the upper 80's.

Tullibardine 26yo 1973/2000 (49.6%, Signatory, Sherry, C#2401, 278 Bts.)
Nose: Sweet with a good dose of sherry. Subtle fruits and a hint of mint. But the complexity vanishes.
Vomit? Still, I'd give the nose a score in the lower 80's; it may turn simpler over time, but it's my kind of style.
Taste: Not nearly as complex as the nose suggests. A subdued fruity undercurrent. Prunes in the finish.
It loses quite a few points here. Pinch of peat? Some aspirin bitterness at the very back of the finish.
Score: 77 points - it grew on me but it was a very tough malt to score; some highlights and some 'flaws'.

Tullibardine 1973/2004 (49.2%, OB, C#2517, 183 Bts.)
Nose: Dusty and a little 'organic'. Fruits. It closes up within a minute, leaving only metallic smells.
No wait, now it sweetens out a bit again. Whiff of manure? Numbs the nose. Returns to metallic again.
Taste: Smooth and easily drinkable at this ABV. Subdued centre with maybe a hint of melon. Aspirin finish.
Only a faint hint of the oil that often distracts me in Tullibardines - but not much else either. Plywood.
Score: 78 points - quite similar in style to the 26yo 1973 from Signatory, also from a sherry cask.

These were not all the (official and independent) expressions of Tomatin whisky I've tried over the years.
My Track Record used to contain a complete overview of all the single malts I've tried, but when I passed the 2000 malts mark (and the complete whisky list wouldn't fit on two separate HTML pages anymore) I gave up. My Liquid Log still contains my tasting notes on most single malts I've sampled and scored, though. You can find a specific expression through the search box at the top of each distillery profile. The mAlmanac now contains (purely personal) selections of some of the best single malts and the worst whiskies I've tried so far - as well as the ones with the highest 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' value. But those tasting notes and scores only reflect my own, purely personal opinions. On Serge's distillery profile on Whiskyfun you can find another perspective on the whisky made at this distillery. Check out the Malt Maniacs Monitor on Malt Maniacs for my scores on all expressions I've tried so far - and those of almost all the other certified malt maniacs as well. The Malt Maniacs Matrix contains a few thousand single malts that were sampled and scored by at least four different malt maniacs, so you can compare our individual opinions.