Today Decadent Drinks is releasing a Tullibardine 2006 which they have been teasing for a while. It is a dark and heavy sherry bomb, fully matured in a first fill sherry hogshead.
Tullibardine 17 yo 2006 (52,7%, Decadent Drinks 2023, first fill sherry hogshead, 283 btl.)
Nose: I’m getting a modern Tamdhu feeling. Big, super active, but clean sherry. European oak, no doubt. Tevasa, I’d say. It is bursting with blackcurrant jam, black forest gateau and plump raisins macerated in cognac. Hints of ginjinha, aromatic leather, crystallized ginger. Then touches of cinnamon, roasted chestnuts and the burnt edge of a croissant. A whiff of turpentine too. Lovely.
Mouth: intensely flavoured. Plums, raisins and raspberry jam, alongside oak spice, treacle and dark chocolate with sea salt. Cinnamon and candied ginger, as well as hints of eucalyptus. Stewed figs and orange marmalade. Good sweet and sour balance. Then drier notes come forward: tobacco leaves, coffee powder, hints of herbal tea. A little sandalwood. Wood never takes over, but it’s obviously well represented. Big stuff – which takes water well.
Finish: really long, releasing herbal notes, walnuts and a dry leafy side. Treacle and spice too.
Clean, juicy, intense sherry, balancing deep fruits with just enough dryness. Not the kind of profile you tend to get from Tullibardine . A really pleasant variation though. Majestic sherry, leaning towards the drier side but with enough fruits as well. In short: recommended. Now available from Decadent Drinks and The Whisky Exchange.