Review by: Raygun

A group of us put together a little homemade Advent calendar. Been a while since Christmas, but life happens. Have a few reviews from that collection to organize and post. Thompson Brothers have done a few of these blends, made entirely of malts from the Sutherland area. That doesn’t mean much to me, but maybe if you’re Scottish it does. Some are older, but this is one of the younger ones due to the Dornoch included. It’s mainly Clynelish with some Dornoch and a tiny fraction of Brora. Not sure if the malts are exactly the same from year to year for this 5 year release. In any case, the exact breakdown:  

Clynelish 12/1/15 Oloroso QC 5.9%  

Clynelish 19/7/15 Refill Hhd 12.6%  

Clynelish 08/2/16 Refill Hhd 12.3%   

Clynelish 08/2/16 Refill Hhd 22.9%  

Clynelish 08/2/16 Refill Hhd 21.4%  

Dornoch 138 21/3/19 Ex-Bodegas Robles PX butt 4%  

Dornoch 158 03/9/19 Refill Bourbon (ex-Glen Moray 07) ASB 20.9%  

Brora 1982 G&M Lot R0/15/01 0.0089%

Reviewed from a sample, fully blind

---

Distillery: Blended malt   

Bottler: Thompson Brothers 

Region/style: Blended malt (mostly Clynelish)

ABV: 48.5%.  

Age: Five years, though most of it is older.

Cask type: Mostly bourbon, but some oloroso and PX in there, too. 1020 bottles.

Color: 0.6 old gold. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

---

Nose: Bit of swimming pool. Old books, with some dampness. Some manure.   

Palate: Weird. Some odd funk to this. Vanilla, lemon, grass. Opens some with water. Pastry, caramel. Something kind of unpleasant and acrid here.      

Finish: Cereal, earthy funk, vanilla. There’s some heat. Tired oak. Acridity persists.    

---

Conclusion: Haven’t tried the older versions of these Sutherland blends, but I did not like this young one. “Burnt cookies in the cow barn” was my suggested SMWS name, and that about sums up the flavors I got. Guessed it might be Tobermory. I’ve gotten some similar farmy flavors from Tobermory, though not the acrid, burnt notes. In any case, it’s not for me. On sale at K&L now, but I wouldn’t want a bottle at any price.

Score: 58

---

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)