Blended Scotch Collab Bottling | 46.15% ABV

Rubbing Shoulders & New Experiences

Last month I returned to Scotland with my beautiful wife and with my buddy Lou (of Wild Turkey fame) and his wife, Angela. The trip had been planned for almost a year, with the first few days to be spent in Glasgow. My wife and I had been to Scotland in 2022, but our last trip did not include Glasgow as we concentrated on Islay, Argyll, and Edinburgh.

This time, we were not going to miss out on Glasgow.

Whether at home or while traveling, the place is always secondary to the people. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Aside from meeting Wally, Stevie, Charlie, and Drummond (as recounted in my last review), the most memorable parts of Glasgow were the people of the city. Please allow me to introduce a few of note.

On our first full day, my better half and I struck out early, channeling the bumble. We had no set course, but we followed the bumble through the northern part of Glasgow to find a breakfast nook. We traversed many blocks and ultimately we happened upon a small corner cafe with four small tables. It appeared this place focused on take out, but the limited space inside was actually rather neat and cozy for a sit in. We sat down at a small table and had a wonderful breakfast. Smoked salmon on hearty oat bread coupled with cappuccinos were delicious pairings (could have been an entry on the breakfast pod if we had paired it with a good whisky – Colonials Podcast Episode #4, by the way…).

There were two people working at this cafe. A gentleman was working the register. The lady of the establishment was managing the tables and patrons. The lady was cheery – humming to the music playing – and most probably in her late fifties, a good amount of eye liner, and with a short mess of faded purple hair. When she came over to our table to see if we needed anything, it took a second or two for me to grasp what she had said as she had a very thick (to me) Scottish accent. It reminded me of some of the thick Gaelic inspired accents I heard while traveling through the back hills and valleys in Argyll.

I laughed at myself for the few seconds it took for me to process what had been said. And, I apologized not only for my lapse, but trying to respond with a mouthful of breakfast. When I recovered, I told her that everything was great and I commented on how much I liked her hair. My wife chimed in telling her she thought the purple was lovely, and I relayed that my daughter had dyed her hair purple a few years back. Now it was the lady’s turn to take a few seconds, and she laughed as it took her a few moments to acclimate to our thick “American” accent. We all laughed. We introduced ourselves, and we were asked about our plan for the day. We talked about our jobs and, of course, we had to talk and share pictures of our pets.

I am glad there was a lull in the cafe as Mrs. Shaw and I chatted away with Maisie. I noticed that she winced a bit every time she shifted her body weight to her right leg. My wife also noticed the wincing and she asked if Maisie would feel better if she sat down with us. The question clearly hit like a ball peen hammer as Maisie’s face went blank for a second, and she blurted out, “no one here has ever asked me to sit down to chat!”. She looked around and saw that the people coming in and out were getting take out and the other tables were empty. She looked back at us with a devilish grin, clapped her hands, and she pulled up a chair. We talked and just had a blether (which is the correct term, I believe).

A tremendous breakfast. The food was great, and the company was stellar. A short while previously, strangers. After a few minutes, laughter, sharing stories, tales and talk about life.

After a bit, I looked at my watch and realized we had to get back to the hotel. We wished we didn’t have to take our leave, but we knew we had to get back to the hotel for a meet-up. As we got up, Maisie gave us a mighty compliment. At first, she paused and grinned, and then admitted she normally didn’t take a shine toward Americans because – in her words — “they’re too loud and always ask for ketchup!” With a big smile, a nod, and a warm “right, then!” she wished us the best – and we, the same to her – and we were on our way. A most amazing and lovely time spent.

We made our way back to the hotel and met up with Lou and Angela. We arrived from different places to have a vacation together in Scotland, but they needed some extra sleep after the prior day of travel. We returned to the hotel in good time and glad to see Lou and Angela happily rested. We set out and hailed a taxi to take us to the Glasgow Distillery for a tour.

Now, I had heard that Glasgow Distillery is a healthy distance from the city center and located in an industrial area. With that; previously, I’d looked on their website for the specific address and had written it down on a piece of paper that I shoved in my pocket.

We piled into the taxi and turned to our driver and told him that we were headed to Glasgow Distillery. He took a second, and then screwed up his face at me. He asked where we were going, again. I repeated myself. The same screwed up face. He turned to his dashboard where he had Google Maps up on a small screen and he typed in something that resulted in a pinpoint not far from the Riverside Museum, on the north side of the river. Prior to arriving, I had examined maps of Glasgow long enough to know this was not where we wanted to go. (In retrospect, I recognise it was Clydeside Distillery that he was going to drive to.)

“Sir, excuse me, perhaps this will help. Here’s the address.”

I handed him the small piece of paper through the plexiglass opening. He thanked me, and examined the paper. That same perplexed look appeared.

“Nah, lad. You’re address here will take you a bit away toward industrial parks.”

“Yes, I know.”

Large pause… “But you’re looking for a distillery?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re going to find whisky there, eh?”

He looked at me a bit unsure of things, but ultimately punched in the address I provided and the Google Maps map screen shifted a significant way from where his pinpoint had been.

“Well, we’re going for a ride, then.” He clearly thought I was not of my right mind.

When I looked back into the cab, I saw that Lou and Angela also had some confused looks, but off we went. After almost a 30-minute drive (as there was significant road construction between downtown and the airport area) we pulled into an industrial park’s lane. The taxi driver raised both hands up and expressed a bit of exasperation that there was no distillery nearby.

“Well then,” he said with a bit of triumph mixed with disdain, “Ah dinnae see any whisky around these parts.”

And, initially, I thought he was right. I asked him to move up the lane a bit. We crept a bit forward, and thankfully I saw a white building with the block letters “THE GLASGOW DISTILLERY Co.” I was a bit excited and perhaps sounded a bit triumphant when I pointed it out. The driver was utterly shocked. “Well, I’ll be…”

We were a bit early for our tasting and tour, and as Mrs. Shaw, Lou, and Angela got out of the taxi and stretched their legs, I wound up chatting up the driver. He asked about the distillery as he had no idea there was one at this location. I told him about The Glasgow Distillery, its brief history, and why I was excited to try their whiskies. A good chat, albeit brief, though I wouldn’t doubt if our taxi driver might have sought out a Glasgow dram for himself that evening. I extended a hand to shake his as I introduced myself. He paused for a moment, and then a grin appeared on his face as he extended his arm through the cab’s window.

“Not many folk want to shake hands. Glad to meet you Ogilvie.”

“Have a great day, and drive safely!”

A nod of the head, and he drove off with that same grin on his face.

Glasgow Distillery is amazing, and I was blown away by what I tasted there. You can take in a little more about my time there in my review of their Distillery Exclusive Oloroso. After a tremendous tasting and tour, we returned to the city center and then we trekked all around – making our way throughout the city clocking 5.3 miles on foot (Angela has an Apple watch that measures that sort of thing). As the afternoon was soon to blend into early evening, we made our way – at my request – to The Good Spirits Company on Bath Street.

I have listened to Roy from Aqvavitae’s vPub for years. Every now and then, he mentions the stores from which he purchases his whiskies. Royal Mile Whiskies is one establishment that he mentions and the other is The Good Spirits Company. And so, like a pilgrim making his way to the holy land, I led three others to this establishment. I smiled as I saw the signs, and then took the steps down below street level.

There is a sign to mind your step as you walk into the shop. I read it. I saw the uneven threshold that warranted the sign. But, when my eyes lifted a bit and focused on the vast array of bottles before me, I was utterly befuddled with amazement and tripped on that same threshold, almost taking a tumble.

A wonderfully nice chap came around from behind the counter and asked if I was all right. “No,” I responded, not averting my gaze from the enormous wall of bottles and labels of which I had only seen in the pages of Dramface or on YouTube. I paused and then continued, “I think I’m having a whisky aneurysm.”

A hearty chuckle from the gentleman. In short order, I introduced myself and he introduced himself as Matt. My wife knew I was a kid in a candy store and she left me to my bliss. She and Angela looked around the store. Lou examined the shelves and while he appreciated this to be a special shop – he’s a bourbon man. The independent bottlings and expressions he understood to be as rare as hen’s teeth where we come from stood out, but he was more keen to go to the store’s humidor to pick out some cigars that we would enjoy immensely later on. With that, Matt and I continued our chat.

He and I chatted about whiskies. We talked about different labels, we talked about the whisky scene in Glasgow, we talked about the vPub, we talked about Dramface, we talked about the whisky desert and why I said I thought I was having a whisky aneurysm. We talked about what it means to enjoy whisky and how it brings people together. I understand that salespeople need to be sociable, but this was something different than your usual salesperson. This was genuine and personal and I very much appreciated having the chat.

Ultimately, he asked if I wanted to try a sample from a newer release from Living Souls.

Yes, sir . . . I absolutely did.

A sample was provided with a smile and a good amount of chat.

After I had that sample, I sat and savored the offering - and after a few minutes, a bottle of this Living Souls was pulled from the shelves as one of three bottles I bought that day.

Review 1/4 - Ogilvie

Living Souls x Thompson Bros 3yo Blended Scotch Whisky, 46.15% ABV
£50 and still some availability at time of writing

I have to admit that I was rather surprised to see a three year age statement on a bottle of Scotch whisky that was being talked up, and of which, a sample was being given. I then saw and read the label before I had a sip. Any concerns about a three year age statement evaporated when I saw Living Souls as the independent bottler. That it was a collaboration with Thompson Bros simply enabled my mind to shift from being leery to looking forward to trying the liquid.

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Unmistakably good value, good quality whisky*

Nose

A compote-soaked nose with earthy peat. Rich, bodied. A waft of Port wine? Sherry-soaked fruit. The peat, while earthy, does have a sweetness to it. Oiled leather – neatsfoot oil being worked into a baseball glove to break it in. (IYKYK). Star anise. Cardamom. Powdered ginger.

Palate

Sweet smoke. That sherry soaked fruit is here. Plums and dates. Blood orange juice. White pepper builds and remains through the finish. Green tea notes. Pipe tobacco from a pouch. Molasses cookies with sea salt. Rich and pungent with a grip, almost meaty. The finish is long and the edges of youth and spice and prickle appear but are not intrusive. It gives an additional texture. The flavor stays on your palate well after the amber liquid is swallowed. This dram delivers.

The Dregs

This isn’t the best whisky I have ever had, but it is so damned solid – I am not sure how best to put it into words. There are flashy and sexy bottles that can blow ones socks off – I imagine a 1955 Family Cask from Glenfarclas or a 38 year old Bowmore 1957 would qualify as flashy and sexy, and I imagine the liquid from those bottles would be mind-numbingly sublime. (BTW, I didn’t make these up – these bottles sold for, respectively, £3,200.00 and £4,400.00 at the last Scotch Whisky Auction.)

The bottle in my hand cost me £50. The quality of the whisky in my glass is unmistakable. Can I sense some of the younger spirit here? Yes. Does it detract? No. Not at all – in my view, and in my tasting, it adds to the overall character. This whisky has depth, character, grip, and flavor. I can appreciate flashy and sexy whisky (not that I often come across it), but I relish a dram that delivers depth, character, and flavor. And, without doubt, this bottle delivers on all fronts.

As I understand it, this bottle is a blend of Living Souls’ infamous 99/1 blended single malt and Thompson Brothers TB/BSW blended Scotch whisky. I am not sure how this collaboration came about, nor do I know how much of each whisky from each source comprises what is in my bottle, but the ABV suggests a straight 50/50 split.

There are two QR codes on the back – one leads to a Living Souls site that shows sixteen different expressions under their label and the other leads to the Thompson Bros site. Neither site shows this 3 year old expression nor speaks about it. What I do know is that I am grateful for the collaboration and am grateful to Matt that he directed me to this bottle.

Not unlike the TB/BSW (which happens to be one of the three bottles purchased that day at The Good Spirits Company, and of which I am also enjoying tremendously) which is such a solid sipper, this Living Souls 3 year old collaboration is simply and solidly good. Delicious. Unpretentious. A bit edgy, but full of depth. And, for the price . . . how do you go wrong with this? You don’t.

When I returned from my trip, I sent out pictures of the bottles corralled in Scotland that were brought to the whisky desert. And, as it turned out, we have some other Dramfacers who have this bottle and were interested in sharing their impressions. Glad to have them aboard and the multi-reviewer review starts immediately below.

Before starting that multi-review, I just want to thank the folk from Glasgow. The people make that city great and I was so very fortunate to rub shoulders with y’all.

Score: 7/10 OS

Review 2/4 - Hamish

Living Souls x Thompson Bros 3yo Blended Scotch Whisky, 46.15% ABV
£50 and still some availability at time of writing

Shout out to Ogilvie for allowing me to tag along with this cool Living Souls/Thompson Brothers collaboration. It’s like when your two favourite bands get together for a special release single (for the curious, that would be a collaboration of Metallica and Queens of the Stone Age - I wonder what blissful tunes those guys would compose together?).

This release came out pretty much alongside the Thompson Brothers Mystery Malt Series 3 and I was very excited to pick up a bottle. Living Souls bottles are eye catching and they’ve released some incredible whiskies - at great value too. This collab ticks all sorts of boxes. The price was a no-brainer and the 3 year old age statement didn’t matter to me. Bring it on and pour me a glass.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*A silky, delicate balance of sweet smoke*

Nose

Very nice initial nose with a good dollop of milk chocolate. It’s spiced with layers of plums, raisins and fresh chopped dates. A touch of nutmeg too. Some lemon curd. Fresh choux pastry and vanilla cream. Slight touch of smoke here along with charred wood, wet rope and a subtle touch of brine. Malt biscuits, blueberries and raspberry shavings. Finishes off with pencil shavings and a used pencil eraser.

Palate

Wonderfully balanced. Weighted, complex and grip in the mouth like you wouldn’t believe. Subtle smoke. It’s sweet with a combo of maple syrup, ash, brine and finishes off with a meaty element here. Some herbal notes appear for me in the form of sage and a hint of black pepper. There are also chocolate cherries and dark roasted coffee. Some lemon cake and a touch of ripe banana. It has roasted pecan, pan au chocolate and toffee chews.

The Dregs

This was a delicious and great experience of a whisky to taste. Silky in the mouth with a delicate balance of sweetness and smokiness. Those both linger in a super, super long finish. This does not, in any way, taste or feel like it’s a 3 year old (albeit that only points to the youngest element in the bottle - not all of it). It keeps you going back again and again. It’s delicious, and to me a pretty perfect winter dram.

Like I said, this is incredible value for money and an absolute belter from the Thompson Brothers and folks at Living Souls. In my experience to date, whisky from their hands seems handled well and crafted with care and passion.

I think this has all sold out at the time of writing, however maybe you could pick one up on the secondary market - but do open this if you have it. Enjoy it and embrace the fun that this collab is all out. Value in whisky and how fabulous blended scotch can be.

Score: 7/10 HF

Review 3/4 - Drummond

Living Souls x Thompson Bros 3yo Blended Scotch Whisky, 46.15% ABV
£50 and still some availability at time of writing

“Do you want one? I’ve already bought two but I can clean them out if you want the last one!”

Me and my whisky buddy (who sent me this message as he was standing in Good Spirits Company in Glasgow) look out for each other this way. If one of us sees something that looks to be interesting or great value – as today’s bottle most definitely is – we’ll often message from the shop. Other times, if one of us is lucky to, say, find some Springbank special release out in the wild (which is rare), we won’t even ask: we’ll just grab it, assuming that the other one wants it. Our assumptions are both always correct.

I’d heard some chatter about this Thompson Bros. and Living Souls blend and was intrigued. I’m a fan of the delicious TB/BSW, and while I haven’t tried the Living Souls Ninety Nine & One, I’m a huge fan of its main component malt, and Wally’s review made it sound positively mouth-watering. So when my buddy messaged from the shop saying that this was still available and for £50, I took the punt.

A big thanks to Ogilvie for letting me hop aboard this review.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Don’t pay any attention to the age statement, this is fantastic value*

Nose

Lightly spiced dark chocolate and sweet, vegetal peat with a tinge of ashy peat, dusty dunnage, plums, brown sugar, malty chocolate orange, and a hint of creamy vanilla pods. A lovely nose, but much more to come on the palate.

Palate

Peat is much more ashy on the palate than the nose. Great mouthfeel; textured and oily. It’s interesting to be able to pick out both the TB/BSW and the ashy Ninety Nine & One here: the sherried creaminess of the TB/BSW dances in tandem with the heavy, ashy, salty peat of the Ninety Nine & One that demonstrates a skilful balancing of the two. The peat is center stage but is also sharing the stage with spiced sherried richness, milk chocolate, and salty pralines. A nice long finish with sweet and salty ash, rich dried nuts, and cinnamon creaminess.

The Dregs

I should say that I’m a big peat-‘n-sherry fan. It’s one of my favourite styles of whisky. They’re both big, heavy flavour hooks, and even as my palate seems recently to be tending towards more bourbon-cask forward malts (more on that in a forthcoming review), I love the style and combo. So, of course I’m going to like this - it’s a fantastic example.

Don’t pay much attention to the 3 year age statement. As Ogilvie details above – and as you can find out with just a tiny bit of digging – a big component of this is much older than three years, and the other component is the gorgeous TB/BSW, which, with a bit more digging, you can also find out the main components. Hats off to the Thompson Brothers and the folks at Living Souls for giving this to us. For £50, this is fantastic value: smells great, tastes great, complex, enjoyable, satisfying. What more could you ask from a 3 year old blend?

Score: 7/10 DD

Review 4/4 - Charlie

Living Souls x Thompson Bros 3yo Blended Scotch Whisky, 46.15% ABV
£50 and still some availability at time of writing

I bought this at the same time as I bought a Thomson Brothers Mystery Malt Series 3 (which remains unopened in case you care). I loved the Living Souls 99+1 so this seemed an interesting choice given the Thomson Brothers collab. It was also one of those purchases that bring you into the free shipping category – it helps us to justify the purchase by the ‘saving’ of the shipping fee, £4.50 off is just that if you’re Scottish.

My first impression on opening it was this is not for me. But in the Dramface writers’ group chat Ogilvie was raving about the bottle he had picked up so I was fortified to try it again quicker than I might have otherwise. And I was glad that I did just that. Having settled, breathed, taken away the neck pour etc, this was far better on the subsequent indulgences.

I’m not sure the term I would use is funky - most like to reserve that term for Campbeltown escapades - so maybe we will go for it having some verve, because it’s not quirky it is something else.

It doesn’t seem particularly difficult to search online to establish the components; a lot of quality in there and the 3 year old tag-line is almost misleading.

Thanks to Ogilvie for the invite to collaborate on this one; he’s a true gentleman.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Thankfully, I was encouraged to return to it*

Nose

It is a heavy but complex nose. There is earthy peat and burnt wood with some salty maritime notes. There are notes like a heavy fruited cake with a dark fruited cherry and plum jam. Notes of tobacco, chocolate and leather are notable in the back.

Palate

The smokiness here seems to be more cigar smoke and coal than peat but the sherried notes are the prominent feature to me. The thing that caught me most beyond the sherry notes was a real taste of stale bitter coffee. There are a lot of dark fruits – cherry and plum, as well as some red fruits. There is chocolate with heavy brown sugar and marzipan in there as well.

It has a medium length, the mouthfeel literally tastes thick and chewy. It is incredibly viscous to me.

The Dregs

Let’s be frank - this is a bold, dirty, earthy little bottle with plenty of muscle. More than once I’ve wondered if the best comparison is to chewing gravy - and yes, that’s meant as praise, even if it sounds odd at first.

I’ve enjoyed it. It stands out both as a collaboration and as a blend, and after spending time in the bourbon cask lane, this was a welcome sherried detour as winter settles here in Scotland. There’s real complexity at play, and my view of it has shifted over time. I hovered between a 6/10 and 7/10, but ultimately it lands at 6/10 for me.

Would I buy another bottle? Honestly, probably not. It leans too heavily on sherry and doesn’t bring enough peat for my taste. Still, it’s a quality dram and an intriguing diversion - one that nudges me to seek out similar experiments, especially from independent bottlers.

Score: 6/10 CC

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. OS

Dramface is free.
Its fierce independence and community-focused content is funded by that same community. We don’t do ads, sponsorships or paid-for content. If you like what we do you can support us by becoming a Dramface member for the price of a magazine.
However, if you’ve found a particular article valuable, you also have the option to make a direct donation to the writer, here: buy me a dram - you’d make their day. Thank you.
For more on Dramface and our funding read our about page here.