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Kirkland 18 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch Arrives at Costco — Is Tullibardine Behind the $74.99 Whisky?
Kirkland Signature 18 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky has arrived at the Little Rock Costco for $74.99. We examine the significance of its 18-year age statement, sherry cask finish, 46% ABV, the Costco “Death Star,” and compelling historical evidence connecting item #1252125 to Scotland’s Tullibardine Distillery.
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Last Updated on August 8, 2026 by Justin Jones
Arkansas Whiskey Watch • Little Rock
An 18-Year Highland Single Malt for $74.99
Costco is currently selling Kirkland Signature Aged 18 Years Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Sherry Cask Finish at its Little Rock warehouse. The 750 mL bottle is 46% ABV / 92 proof and carries Costco item #1252125.
The price is noteworthy on its own. The story becomes more interesting when the exact Costco SKU is traced back to an earlier release that was explicitly identified overseas as coming from Tullibardine Distillery.
18 YEARS
Minimum age statement
46% ABV
92 proof
$74.99
Little Rock warehouse price
#1252125
Costco item number
Who Makes Kirkland 18 Year Scotch? The Short Answer
Costco does not identify the distillery behind the current 2026 U.S. release. However, a 2019 Costco release carrying the exact same item number — #1252125 — was identified in Taiwan as whisky from Tullibardine Ltd. The current Little Rock bottle also matches the historical release on age, Highland designation, 750 mL size, 46% ABV and sherry-finished format.
That makes Tullibardine a strong, historically documented candidate for the source of the current whisky. It does not yet prove that Tullibardine supplied the 2026 batch.
Kirkland Signature 18 Year Highland Single Malt: Bottle Details
| Brand | Kirkland Signature |
| Type | Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky |
| Age | 18 Years |
| Finish | Sherry Cask Finish |
| ABV | 46% |
| Proof | 92 Proof |
| Bottle Size | 750 mL |
| Country | Scotland |
| Costco Item | #1252125 |
| Little Rock Price | $74.99 |
| Warehouse Sign | Asterisk / “Death Star” |
Why an 18-Year Age Statement Is Significant
An age statement on Scotch whisky has a legal meaning. It is not an average. When an age appears on the bottle, that age refers to the youngest Scotch whisky contained in the product.
That means an 18-year-old Scotch cannot contain younger Scotch while legally carrying an 18-year age statement. There could be whisky older than 18 years in the bottle, but none younger.
A whisky bottled in 2026 and labeled 18 Years Old necessarily contains spirit distilled no later than approximately 2008. Scotch needs only three years of maturation in oak to qualify as Scotch whisky, making an 18-year expression six times the legal minimum maturation period.
There is no shortcut to an 18-year age statement. The inventory had to exist, mature in Scotland and remain committed to aging for nearly two decades before this bottle could appear on a Costco shelf.
Understanding the Label: Single Malt, Highland and Sherry Cask Finish
Single Malt
“Single malt” does not mean single barrel. It means the whisky was produced at one distillery from malted barley under the rules governing Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
Highland
The bottle identifies the whisky as a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, narrowing the origin to Scotland’s Highland whisky region.
Sherry Cask Finish
The finish indicates that sherry-seasoned wood was used as a later stage of maturation. It does not mean the whisky necessarily spent all 18 years in a sherry cask.
The Sourcing Investigation
Following Costco Item #1252125 to Tullibardine
The current American bottle does not name its source distillery. Historically, however, Costco’s Kirkland Scotch program has been closely associated with independent Scotch whisky merchant and bottler Alexander Murray & Co.
In a 2016 Market Watch Magazine interview, Alexander Murray founder Steven Lipp said the company began supplying Scotch whisky for Costco’s Kirkland house brand in 2007. When discussing distilleries Alexander Murray worked with, one of the names identified was Tullibardine.
The interview then addressed an industry rumor that Tullibardine was a major supplier behind Alexander Murray’s Costco and Total Wine business. Lipp declined to identify private-label source distilleries, explaining that the retailers did not want those names disclosed.
The Strongest Evidence: The Exact Costco SKU Was Identified as Tullibardine
The Kirkland 18 currently being sold in Little Rock carries Costco product number #1252125. That same number appears in a historical Costco listing from Taiwan dated July 3, 2019.
The historical listing documents a Kirkland 18 Year Single Malt Whisky, 750 mL, 46% ABV, from Scotland — and identifies the distillery as:
TULLIBARDINE LTD
Photographs associated with the historical release go further. A bottle import label identifies Tullibardine Distillery, Blackford, Perthshire PH4 1QG, Scotland, while the Costco shelf card again shows item #1252125 and identifies TULLIBARDINE LTD as the distillery.
2019 Tullibardine-Identified Release vs. 2026 Little Rock Release
| Specification | 2019 Costco Taiwan | 2026 Costco Little Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Kirkland Signature | Kirkland Signature |
| Costco Item | #1252125 | #1252125 |
| Age | 18 Years | 18 Years |
| Style | Highland Single Malt | Highland Single Malt |
| Country | Scotland | Scotland |
| Bottle Size | 750 mL | 750 mL |
| ABV | 46% | 46% |
| Finish | Sherry Cask Finish | Sherry Cask Finish |
| Distillery | Tullibardine identified | Not disclosed |
Confirmed
A historical Kirkland release using item #1252125 was directly identified as Tullibardine.
Strong Indication
The current bottle matches that historical product on SKU, age, region, size, ABV and sherry finish.
Not Yet Confirmed
No 2026 primary-source document we have found explicitly names Tullibardine as the source of the current Little Rock bottles.
About Tullibardine Distillery
Tullibardine Distillery is located in Blackford, Perthshire, in Scotland’s Highland whisky region. The site’s brewing heritage reaches back to 1488, although the modern whisky distillery came centuries later.
Tullibardine traces its modern development to William Delme-Evans, who visited the site in 1947 and recognized the potential of water originating in the Ochil Hills. The distillery later fell silent from 1993 until 2003 before production resumed. In 2011, it was acquired by the family-owned French wine and spirits group Terroir Distillers.
Inside Tullibardine
Tullibardine says its Blackford site includes much of the infrastructure needed to carry whisky from production through maturation and bottling.
- Porteus mill
- 10 washbacks
- 4 copper pot stills
- On-site cooperage
- Bottling plant
- Maturation capacity for approximately 20,000 casks
Tullibardine Has Its Own 18-Year-Old
Tullibardine currently offers a branded 18 Year Old Highland Single Malt. According to the distillery, that expression was distilled in 2005 and matured using a combination of first-fill bourbon and sherry casks.
That does not mean the Kirkland and Tullibardine-branded 18-year whiskies are the same liquid. Different casks, filling dates, finishing periods and vatting decisions could produce very different whiskies.
It does demonstrate something important for the sourcing discussion: Tullibardine possesses mature stock of the appropriate age to support 18-year releases in the current period.
The Alexander Murray → Tullibardine → Costco Connection
The case is stronger than a flavor-profile guess because the commercial relationships are documented. Alexander Murray has supplied Kirkland Scotch to Costco, has publicly identified Tullibardine among distilleries with which it worked, and previously released a named Tullibardine-based whisky called Polly’s Casks that was sold through Costco.
Tullibardine → Alexander Murray → Costco
That supply chain has existed. Combined with the historical #1252125 label naming Tullibardine, it makes the sourcing theory substantially more credible than the usual anonymous speculation surrounding Kirkland Scotch.
Is Kirkland 18 Year Scotch Really Macallan?
Various Kirkland Scotch releases have generated Macallan rumors over the years. For this particular SKU, however, there is much stronger product-specific evidence pointing elsewhere: a historical release of Costco item #1252125 was directly identified as Tullibardine.
That does not prove every Kirkland 18 release came from Tullibardine, nor does it prove the 2026 batch did. But it makes Tullibardine a far more evidence-based lead for this exact product number than a generic Macallan rumor.
*
What Is the Costco “Death Star”?
The Little Rock Costco price placard for item #1252125 carries a small asterisk in the upper-right corner. Costco shoppers commonly call that symbol the “Death Star.”
The asterisk generally indicates that the warehouse does not currently plan to replenish the item once existing inventory is exhausted. It does not necessarily mean the whisky is permanently discontinued nationwide, and an item can sometimes return later.
For Little Rock shoppers, the practical takeaway: don’t assume another pallet is coming.
Is Kirkland 18 Year Highland Single Malt Worth $74.99?
This article is not a formal tasting review, so we are not assigning a score to whisky we have not evaluated blind. We can, however, evaluate the proposition printed on the label.
- 18-year age statement
- Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- Sherry Cask Finish
- 46% ABV / 92 proof
- 750 mL bottle
- $74.99 local price
Age alone does not guarantee quality, and price alone does not tell us how a whisky tastes. But an 18-year Highland single malt bottled at 46% ABV for $74.99 is a difficult specifications-to-price ratio to ignore.
Our Conclusion: The Tullibardine Evidence Is Strong — but 2026 Is Not Yet Confirmed
There is an enormous difference between saying, “People on the internet think Kirkland 18 might be Tullibardine,” and saying, “A previous release bearing this exact Costco SKU was physically labeled as Tullibardine.”
We have the latter. We can document a historical Kirkland #1252125 directly connected with Tullibardine. We can document the Alexander Murray–Tullibardine relationship, the Alexander Murray–Costco relationship, and Tullibardine whisky being sold through Costco.
Tullibardine is the historically documented distillery behind an earlier release of Kirkland Signature 18 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch item #1252125, making it a particularly strong candidate for the source of the current 2026 release. Costco has not disclosed the distillery behind the bottles now being sold in Little Rock.
What is confirmed today: Central Arkansas has access to an 18-year Highland single malt, sherry cask finished, bottled at 46% ABV, for $74.99 — and the warehouse sign already carries Costco’s asterisk.
Kirkland 18 Year Scotch FAQ
How much is Kirkland 18 Year Scotch at Costco?
The bottle photographed at the Little Rock, Arkansas Costco is priced at $74.99 for 750 mL. Warehouse pricing and inventory can vary by location and can change.
What is the Costco item number for Kirkland 18 Year Scotch?
The current Little Rock release is Costco item #1252125. That number is central to the sourcing investigation because an earlier release using the same SKU was identified as Tullibardine.
Who makes Kirkland 18 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch?
Costco does not disclose the distillery behind the current 2026 U.S. release. A historical Costco release using the same item #1252125 was explicitly identified as Tullibardine Ltd, making Tullibardine a strong candidate for the current whisky, but not yet a confirmed 2026 source.
Is Kirkland 18 Year Scotch definitely Tullibardine?
Not for the current batch based on the evidence we have. Tullibardine is historically documented as the source of an earlier #1252125 release, but we have not found a 2026 primary-source document explicitly naming Tullibardine for the current Little Rock bottles.
What does 18 years old mean on Scotch whisky?
The age statement refers to the youngest Scotch whisky in the bottle. An 18-year age statement means the whisky contains no Scotch younger than 18 years.
Does single malt mean single barrel?
No. “Single malt” means the whisky comes from one distillery and meets the production requirements for Single Malt Scotch Whisky. A single malt can contain whisky from multiple casks.
What does Sherry Cask Finish mean?
It means sherry-seasoned wood was used during a finishing stage of maturation. It does not necessarily mean the whisky spent all 18 years in a sherry cask.
What proof is Kirkland 18 Year Highland Single Malt?
The current bottle is 92 proof, or 46% ABV.
What does the Costco asterisk or “Death Star” mean?
The asterisk generally indicates that a warehouse does not currently plan to replenish the item after existing stock is exhausted. It does not necessarily mean permanent nationwide discontinuation.
Is Kirkland 18 Year Scotch made by Macallan?
There have been Macallan rumors around various Kirkland Scotch releases, but for item #1252125 the strongest product-specific historical evidence points to Tullibardine, not Macallan.
Sources & Official Distillery Links
- Tullibardine Distillery — Official Website
- Tullibardine — Our Story
- Tullibardine — Distillery & Production
- Tullibardine 18 Year Old
- Market Watch Magazine — Alexander Murray Independent Bottler Interview
- Historical Costco #1252125 Listing
Editorial note: Tullibardine, Kirkland Signature, Costco and all associated names, logos and trademarks are the property of their respective rights holders. Brand imagery is used for editorial and informational identification. ArkansasLiquor.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by Costco or Tullibardine.
Justin Jones
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