We are back once again at a packed Cut Your Wolf Loose for more whisky fun. Tonight, Phil Thompson & Co. have travelled all the way down from Sutherland to talk to us about what’s new with Thompson Brothers:
- Owner of Dornoch Distillery
- Independent Bottler
- [and now] Blenders
Thompson Bros blend, SRV5, has been making some waves since its release last year [2022]. I tried it on the back of a Dave Broom tasting & book launch some weeks before [WLP86], albeit the ‘Glass Shortage Edition’. Having enjoyed it immensely, let’s see how I find this, a more general release [?], today.
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Thompson Bros SRV5 2014/2022 08yo Ob. [800 bts] 48.5% WB84.70[107]
Blended/married in a 1200 litre vat – [whisky] solera style – this version consists of [I think I heard right]: [60+%] Glen Ord, [30+%] Clynelish, some 12yo PX Blair Athol? and Caol Ila [and/or Ardmore depending on availability].
- N, T & F: I can’t fault it, and when you consider the quality, age statement, high abv,… and cost. Just one drop of water – thanks for the heads up, Amy – chills the whole thing out. Delicious decent all-rounder with [for my palate] minimal peat.
- C: Buy whilst you can at around £35-36 [= small margin/return], because the price will be going up. As for the competition at this price point? Not a great deal. See Aqvavitae’s Blended Malts V-Pub.
Scores 85 points
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As blenders, glass ageing is firmly acknowledged by Thompson Bros, and the Compass Box approach/style most respected.
Thompson Bros TB/BSW 06yo [2022] Ob. Blended Scotch 46% WB85.36[53]
This 99%+ malt blended Scotch was sold off as a vatting error when it was discovered that some grain had been left at the bottom of a blending/marrying/storage tank. Thompson Bros tweaked the ‘blend’ with an eight-month finish in oloroso and PX casks.
- N: Plenty of PX but suitably softened.
- T: A one-trick pony, perhaps, but a vibrant pony at that.
- F: Clean grain-like finish.
- C: Suspected by some to be Macallan, you’d be hard-pushed to find an official bottling at twice the price for this quality. Regardless, this one doesn’t require a great deal of thought. Tasty and easy, this will be popular and is – all CYWL-allocated bottles selling out in a flash.
Scores 85 points
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Balblair 2011/2023 12yo Thompson Bros x3 1st fill barrels 48.5%
I think this might be the first Balblair from Thompson Bros [WB]. The label is a homage to the 1970s designs as seen on the old 15yo for example [WB].
- N: Floral fragrant perfumed, bready, vanilla cream,… = beguiling.
- T: Some time and a little water produce a pucker arrival that talks of delicious squidgy sweet fruit breads, banana loaf, cakes,…
- F: ,… into a long gacky-ish [x3 first fill] bourbon-cask-led chew.
- C: Love it, save for the finish which is a little grating and in congress with the meticulous delicacy of the rest, but it may well soften/relax as the bottle goes down so take my score with a pinch of salt [perhaps just quibbles for many].
Scores 86 points
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Dornoch Distillery produces around 12000 litres of alcohol a year. Phil quips that it would take around 65000 years to make what the big boys make in a week. With Dornoch Distillery #2 in the pipeline, that would make it four distilleries in Sutherland [alongside Clyneslish and Brora] – more than enough for a designated whisky region. With an estimated full capacity of around 300000 lpa, Dornoch #2 will generate, in reality, around 175000 litres of barley spirit per year and will be the first whisky distillery with 100% off-grid capability.
Dornoch 03yo [2023] Un-Ob. Cask sample #269 [btl #1/1] 58%
Very much in keeping with Dave Broom’s idea of the ‘adaptive approach’ [WLP], next up, is an organic heritage-style malt using organic Maris Otter barley and liquid brewers yeast. This cask sample was taken from the barrel at an age of 3 years and 6 days.
- N: Initially, likened to cheesy tequila > rum poured over a toasted eggy Yorkshire pudding. Becomes, however, more whisky-like over time – an hour or so.
- T: Incredibly present at first but falling/fading away some 30 mins or more later. Still uncannily mescal-like, borne from week-long open-topped washback fermentation, though it’s the yeast type that’s key, says Phil. Also, for what it’s worth, I pick out wet nettles/nettle tea and a [non-ginsky] botanical fruitiness.
- F: Remaining agave/cactus-like, it remains remarkably smoky given there’s no peat involved
- C: What? Crikey! Surprising, brilliant!
Scores 88 points
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Regarding the importance of yeast type in whisky making, Phil equates the [established] industry’s apparent lack of interest in using different yeasts as akin to the wine industry deciding to use just one type of grape in the belief that all grapes are the same and yield the same results. Alongside a number of ongoing experiments, Dornoch carries out 2.5-week natural yeast ferments over Christmas. No doubt we shall see what Santa brought at some point.
Dornoch 03yo [2023] Un-Ob. Cask sample #144 [btl #1/1] 58.55%
- N: With an illusion of age way beyond its years, I find this one Clynelish-like, honeyed, milky, bourbon-y, lemon sherbet,…
- T: Perhaps this should have come before the previous mescal-y cask sample as it’s relatively more ‘standard’ by comparison.
- F: A remarkable unwind/long reveal, it cruises on through with more sweet tequila-esque vibes and an Easter Egg chocolate conclusion.
- C: Death seat aside, this is so very different to anything I’ve tried from any other distillery. Bravo.
Scores 86 points
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[Laphroaig] Islay 1989/2021 31yo Thompson Bros [259 bts] 51.9% WB90.72[49]
- N: Energetic if not frenetic, settled/composed, yet the zest for life is still very much maintained after 31 years in oak.
- T&F: Slick, self-assured, a liqueur hint into lemon, mashy peat, liquorice wood,…
- C: Lovely stuff, really, but then it needs to be at £295. Such is the way of things.
Scores 88 points
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One more then.
Bunnahabhain 2011/2013 11yo Thompson Bros ‘Moine‘ [260 bts] 57% WB78.50[2]
- N: Thick dense creaminess with a youthful punch, reminiscent of Bruichladdich’s PC[6].
- T: Large on arrival, large on descriptors, intense yet approachable toasted salty maltiness into,…
- F: ,… a citrus-y soft barley freshness. Remains large.
- C: In three words: Boof! Fabulously intense.
Scores 87 points
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Great lineup! With thanks to Phil & Co. and the CYWL team.
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