Continuing my blended scotch intermission from Singe Malt, today I am reviewing the Thompson Bro.s TB/BSW. The TB/BSW certainly comes with a high reputation, having won the 2023 OSWAs as best Blended Whisky. Does it live up to the hype? And will I finally find a fairly priced impressive Sherry forward whisky?
TL:DR: Complex sherry-centric blended malt at a fantastic value
Vote: 7.5 Very good stuff, and, considering the price, it gets very close to being Something special
Distillery? Blenders? Independent Bottlers?
Before getting into the review, I want to spend a word on the Thompson Bro.s, Phil and Simon, and their Dornoch Distillery. Before writing this article I had absolutely no knowledge of the story behind this microdistillery. After reading their story and doing some research, I am fascinated by their story. I’d love to share a dram with Phil and Simon and hear some of it first-hand. Since that is both very unlikely and logistically improbable, I hope someone makes a documentary about them soon. I would pay to watch it.
I admire how many inroads the two brothers have made in the few years since their project started in 2016. The distillery itself remains a small operation that produces a drop in today’s world of giant distilleries, between just 12,000 and 15,000 litres (depending on sources) a year, allocated by ballot. They have some tough rules against flippers, which would be nice to see more distilleries take as an example. The volume will increase to close to 200,000 lpa, after planning permission for a second distillery building was granted in late 2023.
To fund their business the brothers turned to independent bottling first and blending later, with the release of their SRV5 Blended malt and today’s bottle TB/BSW in 2022. Both of these endeavours have won them a loyal fan base. I look forward to seeing where things will bring the Thompson Bro.s once their distillery output becomes more widely available. And now off to the Thompson Bro.s TB/BSW review.
Thompson Bro.s TB/BSW
Specs
Price paid: 45.53€
Lot/bottled date: Batch 9
ABV: 46%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used or Blend Components: The blend information is very sparse. Sherry forward blend of single grain and single malts aged at least over 6 years, slowly diluted to 46% abv..
Tasting notes
Colour: amber
Nose: Very rich and complex nose with a ton of Sherry notes. The typical dry fruit (raisin, dates, figs), and orange notes (orange blossom, candied orange) hit the nose first. Then heavier notes come into play: treacle, ginger and clove, bay leaf and Maggi. A slight honeyed and floral note lingers in the background, probably from the grain component. As the spirit breathes in the Glencairn additional toasted and nutty notes add layers of sherry complexity: fresh walnuts, some marzipan, mocha, a hint of dark chocolate closing with some pipe tobacco, I could keep nosing this whisky for hours… and maybe I did.
Taste: The texture is quite rich and mouthcoating. There is a bit of youthful spirit spice right up front. It might put some drinkers off, but it did not disturb me. The complexity of the nose continues on the palate. Notes of toffee, raisins, ginger, white pepper, and hazelnuts on the first sip. Tasting it again in immediate succession allows another layer of orange peel and mocha notes to come forward.
Finish: The medium-long finish is maybe a notch below nose and taste in complexity, but still extremely enjoyable. There are some malt-driven oatcake notes, then back to the Sherry forward aromas: orange peel, dark chocolate, ginger. There is some very fine-grain tannin and a touch of cloves on the aftertaste.
Vote*: 7.5 Very good stuff, and, considering the price, it gets very close to being Something special
*Votes are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Conclusions
In my previous post, I wrote about searching for that punch-the-air moment from tasting a great dram. I certainly got that after reviewing the Tompson Bro.s TB/BSW. It’s hard to imagine sherried whisky lovers not liking this one. It has complexity and intensity. There are some younger spirit notes on the palate, as you would expect from the “aged over 6 years” on the label. Yet, the young spiciness is blended masterfully into a sea of richer mature notes.
Some of the aged Sherry notes (tobacco, marzipan, mocha) on the nose make the wine drinker in me suspect coming from very good aged sherry casks rather than older whisky stock, or possibly a combination of both. Similarly, the layers of Sherry notes make me think that there are at least two types of Sherry casks involved (Oloroso and PX maybe). In both cases, as it is just a guess, I wouldn’t be surprised if I was completely wrong on both counts. Still, it is fun to speculate.
It is no surprise that the TB/BSW is so popular. I cannot think of a sherried single malt among those I have tried, that can deliver this level of intensity at under 50€. If someone has one, please let me know! All I can say is that I already ordered another bottle to replace this one. I don’t think it will last long on my shelf. The only wish I have is for more transparency on the blend composition to be available. I love guessing games, but transparency is better.
As you can expect for a whisky popular with whisky aficionados this has been reviewed by many. Here are just a few other reviews of the Thompson Bro.s TB/BSW I enjoyed:
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