Scotch’s Most Exciting Distiller: The Thompson Bros.
K&L Spirits Buyer David Othenin-Girard.
There’s something about the boys in Dornoch that just gets people to open doors for them. The Thompson brothers are the real deal. They’ve been the proprietors of one of Scotland’s finest whisky bars for many years now, and, in their spare time, they’ve built an incredible distillery in the back shed, which is pushing the limits of modern single malt back to its heyday. Not concerned in the slightest with efficiency and consistency (you’ll be hard pressed to find a distiller in Scotland not obsessed with those two concepts), instead their main goal is character. They’re testing the limits of long fermentation, overpitching brewers yeast, and generally going back to the old way of distillation. At the same time, they’re building a new distillery and bottling single casks under the Thompson Bros label. They get access to quality stock where others have faltered. Whether that’s due to the good will they’ve garnered behind the bar at the Dornoch Hotel or simply because they’re pretty groovy guys, no one will ever know, but their cask selections have always over-delivered at extremely reasonable price points.
Due to trademark issues, the Thompson Bros. sell under the “Redacted Bros.” name in the U.S. market, but regardless of the name this is easily the most exciting Scottish bottler of the modern era. Redacted Bros has only until now been a single cask brand. With their always beautiful and sometimes cartoonish labels, they’ve been a staple on our shelves for years now. And we do have some exceptionally delicious single casks available for the time being, but we are also featuring three products that the brothers develop that really represent the future of the brand and the Scotch industry.
Redacted (Thompson) Bros 8 Year Old "SRV5" Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $54.99
While much of what they do cannot be publicly discussed because of contractual issues, the sources for their blends are absolutely impeccable. For instance, their eight-year-old blended malt consists of one of two of the world’s most prized malts blended together and finished in large oak vats. The first is a peated malt from the north coast of Islay and the second a northern Highland legend known for its waxy character. The resulting blend is easily one of the most delicious and exciting products we’ve seen in terms of quality for your dollar in ages.
Redacted (Thompson) Bros 6 Year Old "TB/BSW" Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $54.99
The second blend is the result of a mistake in the blending room of one of the world’s most prized single malt producers. A tiny quantity of six-year-old grain was accidentally added to a large vat of fully sherry-matured single malt of the absolute highest possible quality. While most would scoff at trying to sell a six-year-old blended Scotch like this, the Thompson boys jumped at the opportunity and so did we. This is the closest thing you’ll get to the old prices of the great Highland sherry producers. Bottled at a hearty 46%, it’s like stepping back in time. Once this batch is sold, it will never be recreated.
Redacted Brothers "Mediterranean" Organic Scottish Gin (750ml) $44.99
The boys have also blessed us with their exceptional and delicious Mediterranean gin. This lovely and surprising offer starts with the Dornoch Distillers base blend of juniper, coriander seed, black peppercorn, dried lime, dried lemon, angelica, cardamom and meadowsweet. Then they take fresh single botanical distillations of lemon peel, orange peel, bergamot, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf and slowly blend them into the classic base. The whole concoction is slowly reduced to a lovely 45.7% and bottled without chill filtration for maximum texture and depth of flavor.
And of course, the Thompson Brothers have selected a few choice single casks for the U.S. market, which we sell exclusively. The first and arguably most exciting is a single cask of Laphroaig aged for 12 years in Sherry. Sold under the trade name Williamson and declassified as a blended malt, we know exactly what it is. They slowly proofed the barrel down to a perfect 100 proof in barrel before bottling using the historically inspired label. Few modern Laphroaigs achieve the heights of flavor that this excellent barrel offers and none at such an amazing price point.
In addition to the Islay legend they’ve offered two Speysides of very different character. The first is a 14-year-old Aultmore that spent its entire life in fresh red wine barrels. The color is absolutely astounding and the flavor as well. None of the off or sour flavors that are sometimes associated with fresh dry wine casks are present; instead we get wild aromas of fresh red fruit and dense cocoa. Truly a special cask.
To contrast that unusual offering with something extremely classical: Craigellachie in refill hogshead. Oily and robust with tons of powerful ripe fruit and savory meaty goodness. This is the old-school Craigellachie that we know and love. Both of these wonderful casks are extremely well priced for top-quality malt bottled as cask strength single barrels.
The last single barrel from the brothers is exclusively for those on the Jamaican funk train. With another gorgeous label designed by KK Hiroshima, this ridiculously good single cask of Worthy Park Medium was bottled at a cool 57% abv. At a fraction of the price of similar rums from either the distiller or other independent bottlers, this barrel should be snatched up quick by all those who’ve caught the Jamaican ester bug.