2008 Tullibardine The Murray 13 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

A brand that hasn’t stood out much: Tullibardine has a small but growing band of Australian followers who've latched onto the massive improvement in quality over the last decade. They'd probably prefer to keep it quiet. Not unlike pre-renaissance Bruichladdichs or Glenlivets of a decade ago, most of Tullibardine's spirit used to be filled into tired casks that did little to show off the quality of the distillate. That changed in 2011 when new owners, Pernod Picard made significant investments to ensure much of the stock was re-casked. And they’ve been working on improving the distillery ever since. 

'The Murray' debuted in 2017 as part of the Marquess Collection - the distillery’s high-end, limited-edition selections of the inventory's finest. Now there’s a new Murray on the block, distilled in 2008 and bottled at 13 years old - a year older than the inaugural release. Both the presentation, maturation and cask strength liquid reflect a pride and confidence in just how good the distillery can be. No fancy cask finishings are needed to hide imperfections. It's back to basics, Bourbon matured malt at its best. Tullibardine fans will also appreciate The Murray as a welcome alternative to the mainstream of lower ABV official bottlings that tend to be quite light. Full-term in first-fill American oak barrels guarantees plenty of creamy vanilla fudge and added texture to what is an already velvety whisky. The 2007 release was rated 94.5 points in Jim Murray's 2022 Whisky Bible, so anticipate this to be just as good. Bottled in 2021, the title refers to Sir William Murray, the second Marquess of  Tullibardine. 56.1% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered. Very limited stocks.

Other reviews... A very satisfying bourbon-matured single malt, the Tullibardine The Murray 2008 Cask Strength is not the most complex whisky you'll ever find, but it does most everything else really well. Not a whisky to dissect and analyse, but I believe with enough intricacies to keep you interested throughout an entire bottle. - wordsofwhisky.com

...This seems to be fully ex-bourbon, so we should get even 'closer to the spirit', even if it was 1st fill bourbon. Colour: white wine. Nose: perhaps less eccentric than its bro, more on classic vanilla, brioche and biscuit, apple pie, mirabelles, peanut oil, rhubarb… No ripe bananas and old Meursault this time, this is simpler and 'cleaner'. With water: even more so. Apple tarte, vanilla cream, hops and the usual drop of limoncello. Mouth (neat): sweet, fruity, on yellow and orange wine gums and IPA. There. With water: once again, apple tarte, vanilla cream, hops and the usual drop of limoncello (that was lazy at best, S.) Finish: medium, sweet, refreshing, rather on apples and lemon liqueurs. Hints of vanilla and sawdust in the aftertaste. Comments: totally excellent, just much simpler, more elementary than its brother. 86 points - whiskyfun.com