Tullibardine Distillery

Tullibardine is the distillery to keep in mind when you are driving south through Perthshire and find you have a little time before a flight or the next stop. It sits beside the A9 at Blackford, so a tour can fit into a travel day without turning it into a separate whisky excursion. That is particularly useful after golf in Angus or around Perth, when your route takes you towards Stirling and Glasgow. If you are heading for Edinburgh Airport, check your planned route first, as the most direct drive may take you another way.

There is a good story to discover once you stop. Blackford brewed beer long before Tullibardine made whisky; the distillery traces the site’s brewing history to a visit by James IV in 1488. Whisky production began here in 1949, stopped in the 1990s and resumed in 2003. Today, almost everything apart from malting happens on site, including maturation and bottling, with water drawn from the Ochil Hills.

The Classic Tour takes about 45 minutes, which makes it the practical choice if your schedule is tight. Longer experiences include time in the bonded warehouse. Book ahead, allow time to arrive 15 minutes early, and check the journey to your airport before committing to a tour. If you are driving, you can take your tasting drams away with you.

Children under five cannot enter the distillery production area, although they are welcome in the retail and tasting areas. Wear sensible closed shoes: heels and open-toed shoes are not permitted on the production tour. The production area has steep stairs, so check the distillery’s accessibility information if that may affect your visit.