Various Mystery Single Malt Whiskies | 48.5% ABV

Blind Tasting - Scaled

The Dramface team are, hopefully, all hopping onboard with the blind challenge dynamic on offer here. It’s fun. Really good fun, actually.

I’m doing things back-to-front. I’ve already written my notes and I’ve done my reveal. But I’ll keep it intact and unedited and share it below. Once more, I had great fun with this.

But I’m again left in wonder about the concept itself. It’s such an exciting thing for enthusiasts, and yet so difficult to explain to a casual whisky buyer. Not that it matters, since none of these, just like Batch 1 it seems, were left hanging around long enough to be offered to anyone who wasn’t specifically there to chase it down.

This is an epic idea that supports retail, independent distilleries and producers and it also supports us, as invested whisky geeks. I’ve heard one or two grumblings about not wanting to risk the money on something ‘hidden’, and that’s fair. But it matters not a jot. There are heaps of eager botherers keen to have another go at whisky’s scratch card lottery - with a guaranteed winner every time.

I’ll now share how I got on this time around, but suffice to say, I’ll be keen to grab a bottle when Batch 3 arrives too.

I just hope that the Brothers are making money on this. I’d like it to endure.

Review 1/6 - Wally

Thompson Brothers Mystery Malt, Batch 2, 48.5% ABV
£65 RRP, Dramface received a discount on purchase.

As part of the Thompson Brothers support of independent voices in whisky, they offer access to writers, reviewers and creators - the ‘online people’. With the offer of a 20% discount a few hands were raised in the writers’ chat and we decided to purchase a case of six. A bottle each for six individuals.

While they don’t make a demand on us, we offered it out in return for each of the writers attempting a blind appraisal and reveal to include here.

If this goes out with less than six, it’s only because it’s been published ahead of everyone getting around to their uncorking. No pressure, they’ll get to it.

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*I’m ecstatic with this classic and elegant example of its style*

Nose

Smoke! Good start. Not a heavy smoke, but classic Islay in style. It’s light and ashy in character, with a little cold soot. There’s mint and menthol, waxy lemon rind, pineapples, salt and minerals too; chalk dust and pumice. It’s ‘beachy’ and coastal.

Palate

Softer arrival than expected, seductively creamy. A side-step too; a drying acidity like vinegar and olive oil. Overall salty though, a hint of sweetness, icing sugars maybe, with lots of lemon flashes too, bon-bons and limoncello vibes. It moves into a drying finish, with green apple skins.

The Dregs

Okay, the first thing I’m going to do is make a decision to stick with guessing on the first dram. I’m feeling more confident than I expected. I’ll look at the list in a moment but I feel like we’re on Islay and it’s got pretty classic traits of that style. I’m in Ardbeg or Caol Ila territory. There’s a little maturity here though - I’d say we’re at least 12 years old, and it’s a well-behaved, confident sipper.

The soot on the nose hinted at Ardbeg, but the more you sit with it the more a creamy, lemony sweetness takes hold, and that pushes me towards Caol Ila. I check the list:

Boom. We have both. But we also have another couple of smoky pretenders in the mix: a Ledaig and a Torabhaig. I need to be careful of tripping up. On the palate though, it’s neither a 29 year old or a 7 year old. I’ll stick with my gut.

A quick scan over the other casks and options to check for a banana skin and I’m ready for another sip to help me commit. It’s at this point we need to get over the anticipation of have-we-guessed-correctly? - and focus on the more pressing question: If we paid £65 for this would we be happy?

Easy answer: yes.

I think it’s excellent. An easy 6/10 straight from the glass and building each visit to a 7/10. And that’s on the first pour.

This won’t be edited after the reveal. I’m confident in that appraisal and I’m also feeling (kinda) confident with my assessment, as long as I don’t allow too much pontification to second guess myself. This is Caol Ila.

The Arbeg is a 16yo, I’d be looking for more poise and depth, and some clue that it’s from a butt, even if it’s refill. Everything I nose and taste tells me barrel or hoggie. Let me say if it’s the Torabhaig I’ll be surprised but really impressed. I think this is a rock-solid, light and lemony, coastal Caol Ila. Isn’t it?

Here goes…

Damn. I mean… Damn.

Ardbeg 16yo.

Of course, I pour another and there’s the soot, and that lemony thing is also a strong Ardbeg trait for me. And a refill butt is hardly revealing; how many refills? I should’ve paused and given it a little more time to stretch and display its age. Here’s the truth though - I’m delighted to be wrong.

I’m even more delighted to have a well-aged Ardbeg on my shelf - that I already loved when I thought it was Caol Ila - especially for the price paid. Terrific! Great fun indeed.

As promised this copy won’t be edited. It is what it is. This is just a terrific concept and I’m so up for it.

It’s an Ardbeg 16yo, a very decent buy and a great treat to pour for guests, but it’s so much more. It’s something to help you slow down and think carefully and analytically about the flavour; but also about the fun of it - in the moment - the pure enjoyment. I can’t tell you how nervy I was as I removed the wee foil cap. And genuinely thrilled to be wrong. If it’s approached earnestly, then it’s also an exciting challenge and an instant prophylactic for hubris.

The Brothers Thompson have gamified blind sipping on a scale that wasn’t easy to fathom until now. This idea will be copied. It’s magical.

Third dram now. Yeah, score bumped to 7/10…easily. Beauty.

Score: 7/10 WMc

Review 2/6 - Hamish

Thompson Brothers Mystery Malt, Batch 2, 48.5% ABV
£65 RRP, Dramface received a discount on purchase.

A big thank you to Wally and Thompson Brothers for offering a discount on this Series No.2 bottle. Mostly because it saved me stressing over sourcing a bottle upon release. It seems this follow-up batch proved to be even more popular than Series No.1, with everything selling out in no time at all.

I had a load of fun reviewing the bottle I received in Series No.1. I was lucky to bag a Teaninich 17yo in that turnout. I do wonder, as I sit in front of the mystery Series No.2 bottle, what’s in store for me this time. With a careful opening and the topper still in place, the initial pop, pour and following pours come at me blind. In only knowing what bottles are included in this batch, it’s kinda semi-blind. Hopefully the initial sniff and sip will narrow my guess down (I’m not holding my breath though)...

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Already good from the off, but a surprise too and secretly the bottle I’d have chosen*

Nose

Waxy. Warm printer paper. White pepper with charred wood. Squirty cream from a can. Sliced green apples with waves of floral in there too. The initial sniffs would make you think this is much more potent than 48.5% ABV, with power and heat at the forefront. There’s mint, lemon rind and a spice mixture of ground ginger and cayenne pepper. A little hint of smoked paprika that brings a real vegetal element. Lasting notes of very dark chocolate and sea salt.

Palate

Smoke. Leather. Liquorice, lemon curd and burnt toast. A seared steak, more earthy on the palate and a strong taste of potent smoke and ash. A bright palate with a super long finish that does turn a little bitter as it lingers on and on. It’s drying on the palate after each sip, with sweet smoke emerging and chopped hazelnuts in the mix too.

Salted caramel pops its head in with dark chocolate from the nose coming forward too. A mixture of raisins, blackcurrant and figs lay hidden here with a surprising finishing note of spent coffee grounds and key lime pie.

The Dregs

Ok so the initial pour into the glass displayed a light hay coloured liquid, so I’m thinking right away this is a young whisky. On the first nosing there’s that creamy note with smoke and power. I genuinely thought this was 50%+, but it did calm after a while and into the follow up pours too.

Young, smoky and potent. I’m kind of leaning toward the Torabhaig. Hmm… maybe the Caol Ila but it’s not typical of the Islay giant. It’s neither the Ledaig or the Ardbeg, not a chance. Like Wally, I can’t see any potential banana skins there. I’m still blind on this pour, with little of any inkling of what’s in the glass, except my best guesses.

I’ll add that I’ve never had a Torabhaig before, but given the tasting notes I’ve read I imagine this does fit into the wheelhouse of their distillate.

One last check to look for any ex-Islay casks in the mixt. No. A rechar hoggy only, but that’s an old Benrinnes, this is not that, I’m 100% confident.

Locking it in.

Torabhaig is my guess.

Before the reveal, however, I’m again delighted by the experience here with this new bottle and pours I’ve enjoyed this evening. She’s a 6/10 for me, but very enjoyable. I’d probably pay that for a OB of Torabhaig and enjoy the contents in the glass for what I’ve paid for it.

So, with that in mind, let’s remove the foil cork topper and see what bottle I’ve got here.

A Dornoch 5 year old. Wow.

I watched the live vPub when they opened and sampled the Mystery Malt Series No.1, and this tastes different to what Roddy described he had in his 5 year old Dornoch. But you know what? This was the bottle I was secretly hoping to get!

I’ve had a good number of samples of Dornoch liquid and loved every single one of them. I’ve just never been fortunate in landing a ballot selection for their single cask releases. But this is definitely different from anything I've had before. The smoke with its ash and soot aspect was surprising and exactly why I think I was leaning towards a Torabhaig. It’s a powerful dram.

The Dornoch’s I’ve previously had were weighty, oily and displayed some beautiful yeasty notes with bags of tropical fruit, malt and complexity for such young whisky. The same can’t be said about this. Which might sound like a bad thing, but it’s not. I had assumptions and ideas on what these Mystery Malt Dornoch bottlings would bring. A surprising experience for sure, but a solid dram. Just not what I expected or had in mind. I’m still delighted with this, and stand by what I said in that I’d be happy with this liquid if I paid £65 for it.

Once again, so much fun with this series. I think I'd have been happy with any bottle to be honest. But it’s just such a fun and interesting way to strip away all bias and assumption in whisky. This will be one I'll share to see how others fair. Well done again Thompson Brothers, I can’t wait for Series No.3.

Score: 6/10 HF

Review 3/6 - Gilbert

Thompson Brothers Mystery Malt, Batch 2, 48.5% ABV
£65 RRP, Dramface received a discount on purchase.

Even with odds stacked in our favour, I do have mixed feelings about this blind bottle gamble.

Maybe it is my cynical head thinking of the tales of “damage sales” being an excuse to shift marked-up old stock or those less-than-legit whisky raffles that have popped up in the last few years.

However, I am beyond certain that those Bros are doing this right by the drinkers. Just look at their amazing track record of fantastic value releases. For those willing to roll the dice, it could pay off big time.

This is more a reflection on me and my penny-pinching ways. I am not normally the type to risk the price to end up with a potential “dud” when the money could go towards a reliable shelf staple. However, when you see the range, it is hard to pick a weak one in the line-up. Though there is one distillery I am yet to connect with included.

Either way I am happy to shake off any of the doubt and unravel this mystery like Velma without her glasses. The mind may be mightier than the sword, but does it command the palate too?

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*It develops in the glass, but still completely foxed me*

Nose

A mighty first sniff is full of tart blueberries, bananas and soggy pineapple rings. Almonds and fizzy peach sweets.

There is a bit of a damp wood note, not quite rotten oak but driftwood plucked from a stream. There is a real sparkling elderflower hint which I fear may be hiding smoke under the surface.

From the nose alone I’m expecting this to be a younger release, or at least one with very little cask impact, due to these real spirit-driven aromas providing quite a smack from the glass.

Palate

Instantly it is quite hot, spicy with an almost mushroom funk to it. Again, I am led to thinking this is fresher off the stills with quite a sharp fruit note zesting on the palate which each sip.

A walnut and raisins note provides a brilliant depth, but it’s the fizzy fruits frolicking over the top which are most pronounced: a tub of Tangfastics sweets, lemon sherbert with some sour plums.
Each return, the dram becomes increasingly musty; charity shop tweed building with an almond richness. As time goes on (maybe 40 minutes since I first poured it, I’ve been distracted with YT clips from the latest season of Taskmaster) that effervescent effect has elevated out of the glass, leaving this sweet and sour tang with damp dunnage vibes.

The finish is quite a gentle, herbaceous drying note which really hangs on with a menthol heat. Genuinely quite perplexing.

So now it is time to pull up the list and get guessing. Should be easy right?

They say no smoke without fire so I feel confident that my peat blindness hasn’t led me astray and will rule out Ledaig, Ardbeg, Caol Ila and Torabhaig.
While there is some dampness going on there, the typically younger, fresher fruit notes have me steering in the less mature range.

My first thought was NcNean, compounded by how this was the one I feared most. I have yet to connect with any of their releases, however it was missing gin-like notes which I associate with their spirit. Also, like the end of Wimbledon, there are no strawberries; my go to note in my beloved STR casks.

Not a cereal enough to be a Lochlea, not sherried enough to be the Glen Wyvis, I feel I need to go for the Dornoch. Haven’t tried any of their direct spirit and the younger age statement fits my expectations. As it stands, with two separate deep visits to the bottle before the unveiling I am locking in a solid 6/10.

Time to uncork and see how accurate I am…

Very inaccurate it would seem.

I am sitting here, with a 28 year old Inchmurrin in front of me. Do I hand in my Dramface badge now?

The Dregs

This is far from my experience with any of the Loch Lomond releases I have tried. Distilled just as I was entering Primary School, I am just as clueless and wide eyed as I was back then.

Even after the grand reveal I am still scratching my head. Scratching at my notes, I try to look at connections between my notes and my history with this giant brand. Fizzy fruits akin to Chardonnay Yeast Loch Lomond Releases? Mushroomy funk found in the Loch Lomond Peated Single Grain? It is not worth trying to discover how I got so off track with this one? After all this was distilled a decade before Master Blender Michael Henry placed his fingerprints on the distillery.

The increased age could explain how it seemed to develop over time in the glass and that dunnage wood note from its long, musty slumber.

So, do I alter my score now? There is no question that the value of this bottle skyrocketed as the logistics of this age and adventure of this liquid for £65 is unbelievable in this economy! For me, however, the 6/10 stays.

Sure, it is a snapshot in time of a bygone era and a bit beyond “priced fairly” but having the liquid without any context really let me chew on what is actually sloshing around the bottle.

This has been the only whisky to pass my lips since passing the threshold and each empty glass has left me in the same limbo. Possibly some very earthy smoke? Some dark chocolate from the refill sherry? Certainly quite a peppery kick has appeared more and more prominent as the fill level decreases.

A pleasant, perplexing Scotch which will certainly keep me humble. Hats off to Thompson Bros for including this where it could have easily been cleared off the shelves for double the cost with these specs.

I can’t wait to share with folk blind, I just hope they are as clueless as me.

Either way, the bug has caught me and I am certainly tempted to roll the dice for Series 3.

Score: 6/10 GG

Review 4/6 - Earie

Thompson Brothers Mystery Malt, Batch 2, 48.5% ABV
£65 RRP, Dramface received a discount on purchase. Plus added fees for import to EU.

Okay cards on the table - I’m already a big fan of the whole idea behind Thompson Brothers’ Mystery Malts.

I think it’s a great concept encouraging us to stop, pause and consider what a lot of us are doing, most of the time. Some of us are whisky promiscuous while some are more laser focussed on one, two or maybe three distilleries and are keen to explore as much from those as possible. Either way, when we see something that tickles our fancy, chances are we ponder on the thought that we have more than enough whisky already, only to end up pushing the ‘add to cart’ sign to buy it anyway.

The Mystery Malt releases can ‘challenge’ that pattern somewhat, with the whole semi-blind, lottery element thrown in. Sure, for those of us who tend to zoom in on just their pet distilleries the appeal might be less obvious, but I’ll argue that the entire ‘take a chance’ element, combined with the branding strongly focussed on the concept rather than on the actual brands or distilleries, makes for a certainly interesting, arguably fun and sometimes very rewarding way of ‘taking a punt.’

This mainland Europe-based enthusiast watched with fascination and slight envy as the first series of the Mystery Malts was released as they sold out pretty much immediately. So when our head honcho Wally threw the possibility out for a couple of Dramfacers to bag themselves an advance bottle of batch two for review and play along, I pretty much immediately raised my finger, well aware that, post-Brexit, ordering strong liquor from the EU is anything but a given.

Five years after Brexit it seems the horrid amount of red tape and paper work is settling as the bottle did arrive within a week, so that’s definitely a good thing. Less pleasant though, is the amount of extra fees, clearance costs, import taxes (most with VAT, obviously) adding a significant chunk (roughly an extra 75% of what the bottle actually costs) to the privilege. I’m not gonna whine about it - I knew what I was signing up for, and I’m definitely not gonna get ‘political’ about this, but let’s just say that if XTC are still busy making plans for Nigel, I might have a suggestion or two.

All these side notes, uhm, aside, we thought we had a pretty neat idea exploring these bottles, as each of us agreed to keep the foil over the cork upon opening the bottle to try it as (semi) blind as possible the first couple of pours, leaving out any bias and preconceptions and to genuinely make as honest an assessment of the whisky as possible. It took some restraint and self-discipline, but I managed to pour it and try it blind first.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Sherry cask heavy, but very enjoyable, even in summer*

Nose

Blind neck pour: Initially light and a bit floral - despite the colour suggesting quite some cask influence. Let it sit and develop and after 10-15 minutes the casks ‘wake up’, adding notes of cola, spices (allspice, clove, aniseed), dried fruit; some raisins and sultanas, caramel, toffee, treacle and after eight chocolate mints. Particularly that minty, eucalyptus and menthol freshness is a bit of a surprise, but a pleasant one at that.

Ok, after that blind pour, I had a dram each consecutive night and five days in, these are my tasting notes

Still all those spices and dried fruit notes, but that minty note has evolved towards garden herbs. Some of that youthfulness has disappeared too, as now the dominant elements of this dram are those wood and wood spice notes with leather and old books. Full, rich and yet well in check and never too much. Great nosing!

Palate

Blind neck pour: Spirit driven, a bit peppery, wood and wood charr. Some toffee and treacle and driven/dominated by spice notes of clove and ginger this time and overall quite youthful before it goes into a somewhat peppery finish.

Six drams in, its dense, full, and it still has that peppery/hot note. Lots of wood, making for a clinging, tongue-coating and dry texture. The spices are still well up there with distinct notes of clove and some ginger, while those dried fruit notes have taken a spot in the back seat. The finish has mellowed out considerably compared to that neck pour, making for a drying and woody last goodbye.

The Dregs

When poured, nosed and tasted blind, my initial guess was this could either be the Glen Wyvis 7yo (as it’s from an oloroso octave) or the Benrinnes 14yo.

So in that regard I was quite pleased with myself. To put that into perspective, I also made a complete ass of myself when I posted a picture of the opened bottle and the poured glass in the Dramface contributors chatgroup, with the foil still covering the cork. Or so I thought. As I hadn’t noticed that I had peeled off a bit too much of the foil for part of the distillery to be revealed, something everyone else pretty much spotted immediately.

What led me to the possibility of it being Benrinnes was partly a process of elimination based on colour, but it did help that I’ve had a few Benrinnes pours recently. I also bottle-killed them after reviewing here on Dramface, perhaps leaving its profile stored somewhere in the ‘archive’ part of my brain. This one too has that mixture of something light and floral mixed in with a more mineral element, I’ve come to know and appreciate in Benrinnes.

Despite the quarter casks adding in quite a bit of wood influence, I feel it doesn’t negatively impact or destroy the distillery character. Which in my book is a good thing, as it could have easily turned into yet another ‘generic’ sherry cask matured whisky.

This is really growing on me too, I reckon it might improve even further as I make my way through the bottle. At the moment, the nose is simply excellent, while the palate currently sits just plain decent. The midst of summer may not be the best time to try and assess something as wood-heavy as this whisky, but the fact that I’m quite enjoying this even on hot and sunny days, should also tell you something.

For now, I’ll leave the score as it is, and I’m banking on it that when I revisit this bottle somewhere in three to four months from now, I’ll even get more out of it. So mark it 6, with a prediction of it hitting a 7 in the near future.

Great fun!

Score: 6/10 EA

Review 5/6 - Mason

Thompson Brothers Mystery Malt, Batch 2, 48.5% ABV
£65 RRP, Dramface received a discount on purchase. Plus added fees for import to EU.

Right, I opened it and left the foil on the stopper. Time to go in blind.

Score: 3/10

**Disappointing.**
***TL;DR***
*Och, you can’t win ‘em all*

Nose

Unpeated, quiet at first, uptight, sweet, fruity, some spices like cinnamon? Maybe not. There’s a challenging aspect which might be age? (But in all honesty my budget has made it pretty difficult to have a lot of experience with well-aged product, so I’m often not entirely sure what I’m looking for). Vinegar, wood furniture lacquer, nail polish, white spirits. Harsher and sharper over time.

Palate

Challenging. Bitter red fruits, quite some vinegar here as well. Apples, sour unripe orchard fruits, grapefruit rind, kitchen spices - although I cannot immediately distinguish the specific kinds. Very spirity? Or is the spirit in question just a bit challenging? Then maybe not. Sharp. Rough.

I’m distracted by the possibility of inactive sherry casks, which has me looking at the Inchmurrin, or the 27yo Benrinnes. What if it’s Tormore though? I wouldn’t know how to pick out a Sauternes cask at this point in my journey. But the Benrinnes and the Inchmurrin are properly old. Is this old? Do I get any of that on the nose? Is that the challenging aspect of this? I’m not sure if I would recognise it. I cannot believe how all over the place I am guessing. Every sniff, every taste, makes me jump from one side of my thoughts to another, trying to pin it down. It’s great, great fun.

With water and time it becomes a bit more complex. However… First dram, first contact, it’s a 3/10 for me. I’m quite shocked at that. There’s a harshness, a challenging side to this. I believe this will need to breathe for a while and I’m a firm believer in neck pours not giving you the full picture.

Time to peek under the foil! What is my guess though? I keep leaning towards a tired old sherry cask. So I decided to take my guess only on what I think I’m getting in the way of cask profile. When I think of Inchmurrin I think of fruit and this is way more challenging. So, I’m going to lock in the Benrinnes, because what if that dechar-rechar hogshead was a sherry hogshead? Although what if it’s from the other side of the age spectrum?

Like Wally, I’ll not change this after I’ve revealed it. If I come out the other side looking like a fool, so be it.

Here goes…

Five years old Nc’Nean from an STR cask.

I never ever would have ended up here. I’ve had a number of drams of Nc’Nean’s offerings over the past two years and each one was a little spirit-forward fruity delight. This? No. I’m absolutely clueless as to why my mind didn’t stop to consider the youth in this. That’s the spiky, challenging thing here that I thought might be aged complexity. How odd it feels when your mind plays tricks on you.

The next day I decided to let this wee gremlin breathe for an hour and a half, without a cork on, to see if I can get some of the heat out. Small third and fourth drams a day later doesn’t change my mind on the score.

I’ve enjoyed further pours over five days and I’ll share my final thoughts: a blast of dishwashing detergent on the nose. Tannic, red fruits, blackberries, Bubblicious Strawberry Splash chewing gum, spiky, forest fruit car air freshener. The palate is hot, sour (in an unpleasant way) and all over the place. It’s one of the hottest drams I’ve ever had, even though its ABV isn’t that wild. It tastes like the spirit is having a fist fight with the cask. Reasonable to generous amounts of water will tame the heat a bit, but will do nothing for the palate. The score remains unchanged.

The Dregs

In my personal experience a rare miss from the Thompson Bros, whom I trust to always bottle proper stuff.

I know how the game works though. Not all of these mystery malts could have been gems. I took a punt and I knew the risk. Knowing Thompson Bros seem to have a knack for making great blends, this cask would have been better off being blended away into something that would make it greater than the sum of its parts.

If this all sounds a bit like I’m spewing away my disappointment over my misfortune with this Mystery Malt, I assure you that is not the case. I just rate it on the nose, the flavour, and what I’ve paid for it (bottle price that is, not the added custom fees and VAT to get it shipped to the European mainland).

Over the last year Thompson Bros have quickly grown to be by far the most represented independent bottler on my shelves and this Nc’Nean won’t change that. Nor will it put me off buying a Nc’Nean in the future.

I still absolutely love the concept, the buzz, the excitement and the anticipation and when Series No.3 - the first one to officially land on the continent - I will probably be happy to take a punt again.

And hopefully without custom fees this time!

Score: 3/10 MM

Review 6/6 - Drummond

Thompson Brothers Mystery Malt, Batch 2, 48.5% ABV
£65 RRP, Dramface received a discount on purchase.

Like everyone else involved here, I’m a big fan of this idea from the Thompson Brothers. The chances, the scramble, the distilleries… But mostly, the fun.

Whisky can get a bit serious sometimes and, especially now in this time of high prices and questionable value for so many releases, this shot in our collective arm of excitement is just what whisky needs right now. The TB Mystery Malts seemed highly amusing and good value to boot, likely no matter what bottle you got. Kudos, Thompson Brothers… And thanks for all of the fun being had with these malts.

That said, I sat out the first batch of the Mystery Malt. As I wrote back in April, I’ve been uber-disciplined in this Year of Our Whisky Lord 2025 with my budget. Now, near the end of July, I’ve only purchased about five bottles this year. Which is quite something… For me. That new bottle from one of My Favourite Distilleries that just came out? Sleep on it first, Drummond, and see if you still need it in the morning. I usually don’t.

Yet when fearless leader Wally flashed the Dramface Glencairn-shaped Bat signal asking for volunteers to purchase bottles in order to review, I answered the call and raised my hand. When said bottle arrived at the flat the Batman theme continued with a giant Riddler-esque question mark, making me smile with amusement.

It could be a 27 year old, it could be a 4 year old, or a dozen in between.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A peated mystery wrapped in an ashy enigma*

Nose & Palate

I opened the bottle the night I got it, and tried it regularly over the course of a week before writing this review.

First dram, Tuesday night, blind:

Nose: Acetone peat. Chalk. Hint of mint. Dry lemongrass. Barley dust. A faint farmyard quality. Sweet paint thinner mixed with soft lemon rind.

Palate: Peated melon. Bright citrus (lemon?) alongside softer fruits; melon again. Peat is a bit ashier on the palate than on the nose. Rounded, gloopy mouthfeel. The acetone peat from the nose comes across on the palate as a bit more fusile. What’s the difference between acetone and fusile, you ask? More household acetone products versus more industrial processes, in my library at least.

Definitely no sherry casks here that I can tell. Bourbon or refill cask? Age? Also hard to tell. It has the brightness of a younger whisky, but the peat is somewhat more muted as in an older whisky. I’ll guess younger rather than older.

Second dram, Wednesday night, blind:

Nose: Acetone peat, but a bit more opened up, diffused compared to yesterday. Lemon chalk. Barley field by the sea. Less sweet paint thinner tonight, and more coastal sea wafting breeze.

Palate: Sweet peat. Lemon ash. Again rounded, moderately full, gloopy mouthfeel. Fusile quality, but a bit “oilier” tonight. Soft fruits like melon again, but with citrus in balance. Coastal salt.

It’s clearly peated, and looking at the Thompson Brothers list for this outturn, we only have a handful of obviously peated drams: a 29 year old Ledaig, a 16 year old Ardbeg, an 11 year old Caol Ila, and a 7 year old Torabhaig. The dram in my glass smells and tastes on the young side, but maybe not younger than ten years, and definitely not 29 years old. It doesn’t smell or taste like Ardbeg campfire coal peat, nor ropey tar Ledaig peat, and not really ashy mineralic Torabhaig peat. Final guess, then: the 11 year old Caol Ila.

I peel the cap…

7 year old Torabhaig.

I continue to have a dram regularly over the course of the next week, and while my notes remain mostly the same as above, it has already opened up noticeably to more pronounced lemon citrus, sea salt and more drying ash. Good stuff.

The Dregs

I would have been happy with whatever this was. It works very well as a younger dram: full of flavour yet rounded a bit beyond its years, interesting, and clearly a bit different from the recent Torabhaig official releases. It reminds me most of the Allt Gleann bottling from a few years back, which Wally and myself enjoyed. I wonder if this is part of the first indie bottling of Torabhaig that the Thompson Bros. themselves released earlier this year, also a 7 year old at 57.1%(?) There’s no indication, and it really doesn’t matter, though. This is really quite good whisky and great value, and I’m glad I paid for it.

Hopefully the Thompson Bros. can keep this up. In a whisky landscape with too many releases, too much cynicism, and often too little value, they’ve given us what most of us actually want in a quality dram: some fun!

Score: 6/10 DD

Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below. WMc

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