I will be honest and admit that my experience with Tullibardine is limited to the Tullibardine Sovereign. But that one was so bad, that it does not only has the top spot on my “worst whiskies of 2015″ list, but also made me to avoid any other bottling coming from this distillery.

But who knows, maybe today’s dram can change my mind?

Facts

Tullibardine 2007 (Cooper’s Choice)

Nose

Light and soft. Cooked red fruits for sure, but hard to tell which ones – maybe cherries? Speaking of cherries, someone just opened a big bag of cherry candies. Followed by cinnamon gum, menthol and caramel.

Taste

Very, very sweet and sticky, feels almost like sipping syrup. I don’t know, maybe orange syrup with vanilla beans? Then more sweetness, this time in form of rock sugar. A bit too youthful around the edges.

Finish 

Medium. Sweet and mild but ultimately pretty bland, so to speak.

Overall

No doubt, the potential is there but this single malt is simply too young to unleash it. I think a few more years in the port pipe would have done wonders to the overall appeal of this expression.

Score: 79 / 100

Facts

Tullibardine Sovereign

Nose

For only 43% ABV mind-boggling alcoholic in the nose. After some time I can spot some light undertones of white fruits – apples, white grapes and plenty of pears. Joined by a subtle sweetness. However the alcohol remains present at all times.

Taste

Strong alcoholic. Then a very gentle sweetish fruity touch that gets buried under a wave of bitter oak immediately.

Finish

Long. Very spicy oak. Leaves a alcoholic aftertaste.

Overall

Very poorly integrated alcohol and overloaded with oak. This single malt is everything but ‘sovereign’ – ‘immature’ and ‘imbalanced’ would be more appropriate terms.

Score: 66 / 100