"Tullibardine" is Gaelic for "lookout hill," a reference to the nearby grounds of a medieval chapel built in 1446. Around that time the locals were brewing beer at what, 500 years later, would become a fine distillery. King James IV of Scotland reportedly stopped in at the brewery on his way to his coronation to make what is said to be the first public purchase of beer in Britain.
Tullibardine has since worked wine into the beer-and-whisky mix by way of wood. This luscious Highland malt was first matured, as is common with Scotch, in former bourbon casks, then "finished" for about a year in 225-litre (hence the name) oak barrels that had been used to mature sweet Sauternes premier cru wine from Château Suduiraut in Bordeaux. The result is marvellous. Lusciously silky, it seamlessly weaves together flavours of wood, wine and grain. Imagine toasted breakfast cereal topped with orange zest, dried fruit and caramel, all infused with moderately smoky peat and vanilla. It sort of tastes more like a meal than a beverage, and that's high praise in my books. If they'd had this regal dram on offer back in the 15th century, King James just might have lingered longer and missed his coronation. Various prices in Alberta, $76.50 in Manitoba, $67.99 in New Brunwick.