Tullibardine
Type: Distillery
Four copper pot stills stand at the heart of Tullibardine, but the work at Blackford, Perthshire, reaches well beyond distillation. The producer says every stage of whisky production except malting takes place on site, from milling the grain to bottling the finished single malt.[1][3] The present distillery first produced spirit in 1949.[4][9] Its setting has a much older brewing story: accounts place a brewery here in 1488, although the fact sheet's research did not include a primary record for that claim.[2][6]
At a glance
| Field | Verified record |
|---|---|
| Location | Blackford, Perthshire, Scotland, PH4 1QG.[1][9] |
| Protected region | Not reliably established in the supplied fact sheet. |
| First spirit from the present distillery | 1949.[4][9] |
| Ownership history | Acquired in 2011 by Picard Vins & Spiritueux; the producer uses Terroir Distillers. The exact current owning legal entity remains unconfirmed.[2][6] |
| Business status | Not reliably established separately from the producer's account of the distillery.[1] |
| Distilling status | The producer describes production on site; no separately dated operating observation is established.[1][3] |
| Visitor access | Current access unconfirmed. The producer advertises a visitor centre, tours, a shop and the 1488 Café, checked November 2026.[1] |
| Site status | No separate site-status record reliably established.[1] |
| Stills | Four copper pot stills, according to the producer, checked November 2026.[3] |
| Water | Danny Burn, fed from the Ochil Hills.[2][9] |
| Production facilities | Mill, cooperage, blending facility and bottling plant on site.[3] |
What Tullibardine is known for
Tullibardine brings a Porteus mill, four copper pot stills, a cooperage, a blending facility and a bottling plant together on site at Blackford. The producer's account follows the work beyond distillation into cask handling and the finished bottle.[3]
Cask treatments give the range much of its identity. The 2013 relaunch introduced Sovereign, Sauternes, Sherry and Burgundy without age statements. Later releases brought age-stated whiskies and bottlings involving several kinds of port cask.[5][9]
Designer William Delme-Evans anchors the modern whisky story, from the conversion of a derelict brewery to the first spirit in 1949. The revival of production in 2003 marks another defining chapter.[2][7][9]
From brewery to distillery
James IV is said to have bought beer at the brewery in 1488 and granted it a Royal Charter in 1503.[6][7][9] The research did not include a primary record for the 1488 claim. Both dates concern brewing, rather than the foundation of the modern whisky business.
Distilling under the Tullibardine name began in separate, earlier ventures. William and Henry Bannerman opened a distillery in 1798, but it lasted only a year. Andrew Bannerman tried again in 1814, and his operation continued until 1837.[6]
Brewing endured longer. Alfred Barnard visited in 1889, when the brewery belonged to R. & D. Sharp Ltd, and the Gleneagles Brewery remained in operation until 1927.[6][7] By the time Delme-Evans arrived, the brewery was derelict. He had a building to convert, rather than an operating distillery to restart.
Story box: A distillery designed during recovery
Founding story: According to Whisky Magazine, William Delme-Evans contracted tuberculosis in 1940, aged 20, and designed a gravity-flow distillery while recovering. The producer and magazine date his purchase of the brewery to 1947; Scotchwhisky.com gives 1949.
Source: https://whiskymag.com/articles/back-with-a-vengeance/; https://www.tullibardine.com/our-story; https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/1904/tullibardine/
Turning point: Whisky Magazine reports that a firm buying more than half his output cancelled its order in 1952. With his health suffering, Delme-Evans sold the distillery the following year.
Source: https://whiskymag.com/articles/back-with-a-vengeance/
Documented record: Whisky.com dates the present distillery's first spirit to 1949. Whisky Magazine records Delme-Evans's later career rebuilding and managing Jura and designing Glenallachie.
Sources: https://www.whisky.com/whisky-database/distilleries/details/tullibardine.html; https://whiskymag.com/articles/back-with-a-vengeance/
Verdict: Documented
The supplied verified record accepts Whisky Magazine's account that Delme-Evans developed his design while recovering from tuberculosis, and identifies no contrary account. The disputed brewery purchase date is separate from this verdict.
Earliest known source: Not reliably established. The supplied record cites Whisky Magazine, “Back with a vengeance”, without establishing its publication date.
Last checked: 7 November 2026.
A production timeline
Tullibardine's chronology includes earlier experiments, the creation of the present distillery and a later revival. First spirit, ownership changes and the return to production each mark a different turning point.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1798 | William and Henry Bannerman opened the first Tullibardine distillery.[6] |
| 1814 to 1837 | Andrew Bannerman's second distilling venture operated.[6] |
| 1949 | First spirit from the present distillery.[9] |
| 1953 | Brodie Hepburn acquired the distillery.[6][7] |
| 1971 | Invergordon Distillers acquired Brodie Hepburn and took over Tullibardine.[7][9] |
| 1973 | The still complement increased from two to four.[7][9] |
| Early 1990s | Distilling stopped: 1993 according to the producer, 1994 in trade accounts.[2][6][7][9] |
| 2003 | A private consortium bought the distillery and restarted production.[2][7] |
| Late 2004 | The revived distillery officially opened.[7] |
| 2011 | Sale to Picard Vins & Spiritueux.[2][6] |
The restart brought the task of assessing the stock inherited with the site. Much of it lay in tired casks, according to Scotchwhisky.com, and the new owners undertook extensive recasking.[6] Whisky Magazine describes roughly 120 casks, spanning the 1960s to the early 1990s, being assessed after the restart. It reports striking consistency in the spirit.[7] The fact sheet gives both accounts the verdict Documented; the assessment of the spirit comes from the magazine.
The consortium taking on that work included Doug Ross, Michael Beamish, chairman Alan Williamson and finance director Alastair Russell. John Black came out of retirement to manage the distillery after the acquisition.[7]
Production at Blackford
Water reaches Tullibardine from the Ochil Hills through the Danny Burn. The producer lists a Porteus mill, while Whisky.com describes a six-tonne stainless steel semi-lauter mash tun, where liquid is extracted from the grain.[3][9] Fermentation follows in washbacks before the liquid reaches the stills; Whisky.com gives a fermentation time of at least 52 hours.[9]
The washback count differs between sources. The producer lists ten of these fermentation vessels; Whisky.com lists nine stainless steel washbacks.[3][9] The record does not establish whether the difference reflects an expansion or replacement.
The producer lists four copper pot stills, alongside a cooperage, blending facility and bottling plant.[3] Together, these facilities carry the work through distillation, cask work, blending and bottling, giving Blackford a role in the whisky's production well beyond making spirit.
The producer also gives cask capacity of 20,000 casks, checked November 2026.[3] That figure describes storage provision, not annual spirit output.
Understanding the whisky range
Cask treatments offer a clear starting point. Sovereign, Sauternes, Sherry and Burgundy formed the range's 2013 relaunch, all without age statements.[9] These names help readers navigate the range, but are not a substitute for documented tastings of each expression. Their place in the release history does not establish current availability.
The Marquess Collection launched in 2016 and includes The Murray 2008. The Murray Triple Port followed in 2022, involving white, tawny and ruby port casks.[5] That same year, Distillery Edition No. 4 offered an individual cask selection: a 2005 Oloroso cask chosen by distillery manager David Myles.[5]
The producer's November 2023 account added an 18 Year Old to the Signature Range alongside the 15 Year Old, describing first-fill bourbon and sherry casks.[5] At the older end of the recorded range, the first Custodian Collection edition was a 60 year old distilled in 1952.[9]
The 2024 anniversary bottling reached back to the period before the shutdown. The producer describes a 1993 cask matured in bourbon wood, then given eight years in virgin oak, yielding 325 bottles.[4] The anniversary celebrated 75 years since the first spirit in 1949, tying the release to the present distillery rather than to centuries of continuous distilling.
Across this release history, the details of each whisky matter more than a general description of finishing. Whisky.com describes wood finishes taking about 12 months, but that account should not replace the stated maturation history of a particular bottling.[9]
Reading the history and planning a visit
The gap before the 2003 restart lasted about a decade.[6][9] Read alongside the separate brewing and Bannerman chapters, that interruption gives Tullibardine a layered history, without supporting a claim to be Scotland's oldest distillery.
Current visitor access is unconfirmed. The producer advertises tours, a visitor centre, a shop and the 1488 Café.[1] Before travelling, check the official website for current access, booking arrangements, accessibility and age conditions. A visitor centre listing alone does not confirm that a particular tour is running.
Where to go next
- Aberfeldy: put Tullibardine in a wider context with another Highland distillery guide.
- Deanston: compare the individual distillery record with the account of production at Blackford.
- Edradour: turn to another distillery history and follow its chronology.
Sources
- Tullibardine, producer's account. Welcome to Tullibardine. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.tullibardine.com/
- Tullibardine, producer's account. Our Story. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.tullibardine.com/our-story
- Tullibardine, producer's account. Distillery. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.tullibardine.com/distillery
- Tullibardine, producer's account. 75th Anniversary Edition. 2024 release account, checked November 2026. https://shop.tullibardine.com/products/75th-anniversary-edition
- Tullibardine, producer's account. Infos. Release accounts covering 2016, 2022 and 2023, checked November 2026. https://shop.tullibardine.com/blogs/infos
- Scotchwhisky.com. Tullibardine: Whiskypedia. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/1904/tullibardine/
- Whisky Magazine. Back with a vengeance. Publication date not supplied in the verified sheet; checked November 2026. https://whiskymag.com/articles/back-with-a-vengeance/
- Whisky.com. Tullibardine Distillery. Undated web edition, checked November 2026. https://www.whisky.com/whisky-database/distilleries/details/tullibardine.html
This desk-researched article uses the site's verified fact sheet, distinguishing producer accounts, trade reporting and unresolved details.
Last checked: November 2026.