Thompson Bros TB/BSW 40yo (1984) & Thompson Bros Glen Scotia 11yo (Vintage 2013)

Thompson Bros TB/BSW 40yo (1984)

Region: Scotland

ABV: 40.4%

Price: £165.00

A blend of malt and grain whiskies. The youngest spirit was distilled in March 1984 and the whisky was matured for 40 years in a refill butt, then bottled in October 2024. No outturn was given.

Nose

The nose opens with fizzy apples candies, sherbet, ginger puree, macerated grapes, buttery biscuits and a little warehouse must. It's a tad pepperier than we would have expected after 40 years in a butt - however there's a gentleness to the spirit overall which sits in the background. Going back, we're finding more of a herbal aroma, pine needles, black tea leaves and a little lavender.. more like parma violet sweets. As we sit with it, we're finding remnants of red fruits.. perhaps we're looking for those given the sherry butt maturation but there's a sort of fermented berry thing going on for us. 

Palate

The palate opens with a mixture of old wooden furniture, gentle wood spice, caramel, walnuts and some soft vanilla flavours moving into the finish. There's a wisp of smoke in the background, more of a herbal, slightly medicinal smoke that sits on your tongue. We're also finding some fizzy citrus, not particularly fruity, more like citric acid, and some lighter fruit notes of apple and apricot. The mouthfeel is fine, we aren't expecting lots of viscosity for the age, but there's some texture here, and the finish does linger for a decent length with more honey notes coming through. There's a lot less pepperiness on the palate when compared with the nose which is nice - much more representative of the whiskies age.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose feels a little butterier, biscuitier, along with accentuating the mustiness.. we're transported to an old dusty warehouse. There's still fruit in the background, those classic orchard apples and pears, and a slight flintiness when we get our noses deep into the glass. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate feels a little zingier up front, the citrus is really shining through, and it feels sweeter too - artificially more than natural sweetness. The smoke is still there, sitting softly in the background. Water has made it feel simpler, less complex, but also very drinkable. 

Conclusion

It's a unique dram - lots going on, although it seems to ebb and flow along the same line rather than take us on a journey. The nose felt a bit flatter than we'd like, however the palate was lovely, interesting with some nice layers of flavour. We're not sure we need a bottle but we wouldn't turn down a dram.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

You would be hard pressed to find a 40-year-old grain at this price, let alone a blend.

Thompson Bros Glen Scotia 11yo (Vintage 2013)

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 57.1%

Price: £70.00

Distilled in 2013 and matured in a first fill barrel, this Glen Scotia was bottled in 2025 at 11 years with an Outturn of 235 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with butterbeer, poached apples, sea spray, honeydew melon, apricot jam and a little light menthol. It's fairly fresh and vibrant on the nose, very fruity, with some honey and vanilla aromas sitting in the background. There's a pepperiness here which is a bit more prominent than we'd like, however there's enough whisky character punching through to balance this. Going back, there's some shoe polish and cardboard here too.

Palate

The palate opens with a mixture of sweet, zingy fruits - lots of apples, pears, some tinned pineapple and warm peach. The citrus really punches through, lots of lemon zest and juice too. The spice is still here, a mixture of black pepper and raw ginger juice, mixed with some creamier vanilla and custard flavours as the palate develops. There's also some runny honey and melon balls. The mouthfeel is really good, lots of texture here, and the finish does last for a while with a touch of salt and stripped wood. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has more of a salinity appearing, salted caramel, vanilla fondant, crystalised ginger, and some wet, musty oak. A lot of the fruit has been overshadowed by cask for us, although there's hints of white peach and pear in the background. Water has tamed the pepperiness somewhat.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses a bit of mouthfeel, but in turn softens a bit of the peppery spice. It's a tradeoff. There's lots of citrus upfront, very lemony, lots of green apple and some simple sugar syrup drizzled over. There's a bit of salinity as the dram moves into the finish, it definitely gets more of that classic Scotia character on the latter palate.

Conclusion

A pretty solid Glen Scotia, perhaps less Campbeltown-y than we usually find although there's that signature salinity and must hidden in there behind more of a classic fruity, sweet and sour character. Our biggest gripe is the spice, it throws the balance out a little for us, but it's still a very drinkable dram. 

Score: 7/10

Value

Not a bad price for an indie cask strength Scotia.

• 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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