Imagine the scene. You are getting married and you split up the tasks leading up to the big day. Some you do together, others you own and action when you get the time between work life, family life and some kind of personal life to do your own interests.

That was me this time 2 years ago and one of my tasks was to arrange a “mini-moon” for just me and the future Mrs Malted. I picked a great place that has 5 star ratings and caters for couples. The family run business has been going for a good few years and the owners did a lot of market research to really get the right look and feel for a premium short term getaway in Scotland.

No it wasn’t Tullibardine distillery although that isn’t entirely far fetched when you look at Bowmore distillery but the place I found is “The Hideaway Experience” and I definitely think anyone in the market for a place for just them should give it a look.

What does this have to do with a distillery visit? Well, I am not turning into some kind of travel writer (thankfully) but the other part to the story is I booked it for November 2022. Which is a moderately sized problem because I don’t get married until this year, 2023.

Not one to avoid any excuse to make lemonade we decided to still go and make an adventure of the drive up with our new little car and have a stop off or two. Tullibardine was one of those stops and so that is how we ended up here writing this review of the visitor experience.

Tullibardine is one of those whiskies I haven’t been particularly polite about. Indeed, the Sauternes finish is one of the worst whiskies I have ever bought. It has been the root case for why I will refuse to buy anymore sweet wine finished whiskies for fear of repeating stomach turning episode.

However, I think if you live close to distilleries one of the cheapest and nicest ways to determine if you dislike all products from a distillery or only a select few missteps is to rock up and do the tour. So that was the plan and Tullibardine is a distillery lots of us drive past and never have the time to drop in. so win-win.

Built in 1949 from the site of Gleneagles Brewery the distillery is currently owned by the French company Picard and has the kind of investment behind it now to hopefully have a bright future. The distillery looked like a Baxter’s shopping mall as the picture above because of a financial arrangement by the previous owners. That gives a dismissive tone which I don’t mean though because the only reason we have an operational distillery today is because those same owners bought it out from Whyte & MacKay who left it silent from 1994 when they acquired it as part of a larger deal and 2003 when it was sold to a group of business people. Buying distilleries isn’t cheap and turning a portion of the site into a shopping mall to create a tourist attraction in the early 2000’s is a pretty good idea given the road which runs along the perimeter to the site gives ready access to passing trade.

Mark Reynier and his business partners bought Bruichladdich two years earlier and would say later that they “bought barrels of whisky with a distillery thrown in for free” and it’s the same deal here at Tullibardine with lots and lots of ex bourbon barrels in various states of age and vitality. All of this meant having to buy wood to re-finish mature whisky into sellable products. An expensive business and therefore additional revenue streams is all the more understood in that context.

Anyway, back to the visit itself and you could be forgiven for thinking the distillery would be rustic and dated but absolutely not. There isn’t a cafe or restaurant which is a shame with few options for a lunch close by but the decor is nice, fresh and modern and there is even an onsite cooperage as an added reason to make the visit. We were the only people on the tour when we visited and our guide Anne was a great ambassador for the distillery full of passion and experience of both this distillery and others where she had worked.

With the low production capacity the semi Lauder mash tun, local water source and onsite cooperage there is all the makings of a premium craft distillery. At the moment though the whiskies you can buy are all very well priced. Even well aged items like the 25 year old was always the cheapest in their age bracket although sadly stocks have now run out.

I left with a bottle which I will review next and a new appreciation for the distillery. I am what you might say a convert and if that isn’t the point of a visitor centre then I don’t know what is.