Thompson Bros Ben Nevis 52yo (1973)

Thompson Bros Ben Nevis 52yo (1973)

Region: Highlands

ABV: 40.1%

Price: £750.00

Distilled at Ben Nevis in 1973 and matured for 52 years in two refill hogsheads. Bottled in 2025 by Thompson Bros at natural strength, non chill filtered and natural colour. No official outturn was stated.

Nose

The nose opens with slightly wet sugar paper, sand paper, fuzzy peach skin, dunnage warehouse wall mould, a little rum-like ginger funkiness and a little poached rhubarb in the background. Quite a unique nose, it definitely presents older, with a gentle alcohol spice that sits far in the background. Giving it some time and air, we're starting to find banana bread, wet pebble-like minerality, beeswax, gooseberry and overripe kiwi. Going back again, we're also finding orange peel, a little mellow smoke and mushy yellow apple. It's definitely complex, and definitely needs some time to open up in the glass.

Palate

The palate opens with sweetened apple sauce, sugar paper, peach ring sweeties, artificial strawberry, smoked almonds, grapefruit peel and a lingering light acidity akin to preserved lemons. The finish is a tad dry though, lots of sawn wood and a handful of dried herbs. The texture feels a little thin, the ABV is making the palate viscosity suffer a bit, however it's brightened up on the second sip, a lot zingier, tart sour apples, some sweet fudge with a sprinkling of salt, even a little honey. There's a certain oxidized quality to this, it's got a nutty, older sherry-like flavour coming through, it's actually quite pleasant. The finish does linger for a decent length, nutty chocolate and ginger as the predominant flavours.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings forward a slightly meatier, more savoury aspect to the dram, alongside the banana bread, ginger cake and smoked almonds we got from before. The citrus oils, primarily orange, are still there, and a lingering light vanilla sweetness sits in the background. The nose hasn't really lost much, but nor has it gained a lot.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate opens with more of that citrus burst, moving into marzipan, and a creaminess we never got before. It's actually.. much simpler, more pleasant, but lost a lot of its charm, we're struggling to find those oxidized, nutty sherry-like aromas. It really doesn't need the water.

Conclusion

A dram of this prestige has a heavy expectation on it, and we didn't want to let the 5 decades of maturation colour our thoughts before even pouring. It's no doubt complex, interesting and presents itself as a dram of this age and quality, however it isn't perfect. For us, the nose takes quite a long time to open up, but does reward you with an experience that hits all of your senses, but the palate is a little too thin, and feels flat overall. It doesn't have the same intrigue as the nose, and we're not finding ourselves excited to go back for another sip. Some may find this perfect, but for us it's a 7/10.

Score: 7/10

Value

Yes, it’s a huge amount of money, but it’s also 52yo malt whisky, and we’re sure some people will consider this a bargain.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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