I bought this for one reason: the art. Okay, that is a bit of a stretch, if this had cost $2000 instead of $200 I would not have bought the bottle, so the price, a relative steal for the age, influenced the purchase as well… but those disco cats!

I hoped to nab this blend when it came out, but alas, the Thompson Brothers release schedule is not fit for my tropical time zone and the very early morning release was gone by the time I awoke. However, luck was on my side and several months later I came across a bottle at the Good Spirits in Glasgow. When I asked how they still had it, they told me that people kept adding the bottle to their carts on the website, but never checking out, thus leaving the bottle technically removed from the inventory for anyone else who happened to check the website.  This worked to my favor since I happened to have walked in the physical store and quickly punched my ticket to the cat disco!

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Whisky: Blended Scotch 38 Year (1986), Thompson Brothers

Country/Region: Scotland/Blend

ABV: 41.1%

Cask: Butt, Hogshead

Age: 38 Years (Distilled 31 Aug. 1986, Bottled Sept. 2024)

Notes: Orange and tangerine gummy candies met creamy vanilla, citrusy zest, and a kiss of salt to open up an early spring backyard party. Green grass, wild mint, catnip, and mugwort provided a grassy-herbal backdrop to mellow citrusy fruits. Hints of a lawnmower and burlap sack provided a tinge of something industrial with motor oil and hessian gradually turning back toward sweeter and grassier notions of honey and chamomile tea. Light-bodied on the palate, the flavors were mellow and mild with plenty of fruits leading to grass and a touch of musty garage. Fruity, citrusy candies and gum drops met pepper, newspaper, salt, and zest as orange, tangerine, kiwi, and fig appeared at different moments— a true grab bag of gummy fun. Green grass and more herbal elements, a touch less distinct on the palate, carried on toward hessian, lawn clippings, and an old lawn mower. The finish was long and gentle with drying oak, tangerine peel black tea, and an odd touch of cucumber.

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Score: 7 (85)

Mental Image: Dowager’s Garden Party Disco

Conclusion: There was a lot going on in this whisky, though the aromas and flavors were sometimes frustratingly fleeting in nature. It was hard to pin down exactly how elements presented, though fruits, grass, and mustier qualities remained at the fore with a bit of pepper. The whisky felt properly old and refined after so long in the cask, though the flavor profile lacked some of the juicy or oaky intensity that one might want from the age— there was no lacquered wood, resins, or fine stringed instruments to provide musical depth. Though it was more disco party than symphony, I thought the whisky was supremely drinkable and that the most disappointing aspect was merely how quickly my glass— and the bottle— emptied.