Scotch Whisky Review #435: Thompson Bros TB/BSW 6 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky

Distillery: Blend.

Bottler: Thompson Bros.

Region: Blend.

Age: 6 Year.

ABV: 46.0%.

Cask Type: Mix of refill and first-fill sherry hogsheads.

Color: 1.3, Tawny. Natural Color and Non Chill Filtered.

This dram is the ninth of 2022’s Christmas Countdown! Whiskies from previous years can be found here.

Every year, I look at the advent calendar offerings that pop up across the pond and think that it would be super cool to do something like that (it is actually the inspiration for my review spree in December). Turns out, I wasn’t the only one who wanted to do one so between /u/federalagents, /u/DangerousDoorknob, and I we put our own together! This is the eighth dram of the calendar.

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Nose: It is very, very oak heavy and reminds me more of a virgin oak matured whisky than anything else. There’s a ton of spice and nutty notes.

Palate: Much like the nose suggests, it is very oak heavy. It tastes like I’m literally sucked on a piece of wood. It’s quite dry with a lot of wood varnish notes as well.

Finish: Mercifully short. It is drying with a whisp of wood varnish.

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Conclusion: It’s been a while since I’ve had a dram and almost immediately wanted to pour it down the drain. Unfortunately, this Thompson Brothers blend just did not do it for me. It comes across as extremely overoaked, perhaps from the solera vatting system they use to make this. It smells like wood, it tastes like wood, and honestly I almost might prefer to suck on a piece of wood than have this again.

Final Score: 24.

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Scotch Whisky Review #435, Blended Review #17, Whisky Network Review #590

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky and I will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection if feasible.
• 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product and I’m likely wanting a bottle or two.
• 80-84: Quite good, pleasant overall though there is usually a few things that could be improved still.
• 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed.
• 70-74: Alright, solid and wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.