At the foot of the Ochil Hills, in the village of Blackford, lies a distillery built upon unusually regal foundations. The site where Tullibardine now stands was once home to a brewery established in the 15th century, famed for its access to a pure hillside spring. That water source was so highly regarded that in 1488, King James IV of Scotland is said to have stopped at Blackford to purchase ale on the occasion of his coronation. The brewery thrived for centuries before closing in the early 20th, and its legacy paved the way for a new chapter in the form of single malt whisky.

Tullibardine Distillery was founded in 1949 by William Delmé-Evans, a former architect with a passion for engineering and distilling. It was among the first new distilleries to open in Scotland after the Second World War, and its creation marked the beginning of a postwar whisky revival. Though its early years showed promise, the distillery would pass through several hands and suffer a long period of silence beginning in 1994. It was eventually brought back to life by the French company Picard in 2003, and later sold to Terroir Distillers in 2011, who invested heavily in both production and international reach. Today, the old brewery buildings still stand as part of the visitor centre, a rare physical link between brewing and distilling history.

The distillery draws water from the Danny Burn, a spring fed by the surrounding hills, and uses traditional wooden washbacks and copper pot stills. Long fermentation and gentle distillation result in a light and floral spirit, which is matured in a broad selection of casks. From classic bourbon barrels to red wine and sherry finishes, Tullibardine’s range embraces sweetness, spice, and stone fruit, often with a silky malt character and a dry mineral edge.