Tullibardine Distillery, Blackford: The Highland Gateway Malt

Tullibardine Distillery, Blackford: The Highland Gateway Malt

✅Open to visitors — this distillery has a visitor centre and/or tours (some by appointment; book ahead — see the box below).

Tullibardine at a glance

RegionHighland (Blackford, Perthshire)
Founded1949
OwnerTerroir Distillers (Picard, France)
Visitor centreYes — the “1488” centre & café
ToursClassic, Bonded & warehouse tours — book
OpeningDaily — check the website
Websitetullibardine.com
CLANMURRAY“Tout Prest”

Overview

Tullibardine, at Blackford in Strathearn, is a Highland distillery in a village long famous for its water — Blackford has brewed and bottled since medieval times. It makes a fruity, approachable Highland malt and is an easy stop just off the A9.

The history

The modern Tullibardine was designed by the noted distillery architect William Delmé-Evans and built in 1949, on a site with a much older brewing history — its “1488” visitor centre recalls the year King James IV is said to have bought ale in Blackford. It is now French-owned, by Picard.

The water & the land

Tullibardine draws on the Danny Burn and springs in the Ochil Hills — the same celebrated Blackford water that made the village a brewing centre.

Tullibardine had no founding clan, but the name is a landed one: “Tullibardine” is a title and estate of the Murray family, the Dukes of Atholl, in Strathearn.

Visiting

Tullibardine has the “1488” visitor centre and café and runs Classic, Bonded and warehouse tours — book ahead; check the website. Right by the A9 at Blackford, it’s an easy gateway-to-the-Highlands visit.

Nearby & more whisky

Sources