Sutherland 5 Year Blended Malt, Thompson Brothers
Whisky: Sutherland 5 Year Blended Malt, Thompson Brothers
Country/Region: Scotland/Highland Blended Malt
ABV: 48.5%
Cask: Refill Hogshead, PX Butt, Oloroso Quarter Cask, Refill Bourbon
Age: 5 Years (Bottled 2024)
Nose: Bright and acidic, citrusy, slightly sour, spicy and zesty, slightly vegetal, herbal with time; plastic with hints of modeling glue.
Palate: Medium to light-bodied, crisp and citrusy, herbal, fruitier with time, slightly plastic with taco spices, herbal, more pleasant caramelized sugars and citrus at the end.
Finish: Medium length and gentle with melted butter and sugary citrus.
Score: 6 (78)
Mental Image: Okinawan Taco Rice on a Friday Night
Narrative & Notes: Bright and acidic, spicy, zesty, and a touch vegetal— I pictured a bowl of Okinawan taco rice with cumin, fennel, lemon, tomato, and a touch of warm rice. There were more subtle notions of stale beers, mostly lukewarm IPAs that were a touch sour, and worn wood. Mellow notions of plastic and modeling glue— was this all a lunch break from some weekend gunpla assembly? Medium to light-bodied on the palate with well-defined and crisp flavors that ranged from herbal, fruity, and finally slightly plastic. It was all taco rice and cheap beer again, with a stronger citrus and caramelized sugar that pulled toward crepes and dessert with time. The modeling glue and plastic were present, but subdued and disappeared with water. The finish was medium length and gentle with melted butter and sugary citrus.
This whisky proved to be one of the most divisive of our online group’s mystery whisky advent calendar. I would love to jokingly tell you I could taste the Brora in this, but who would believe me. To be clear, I do not, but I do love the image of someone at Dornach with a spray bottle of Brora who spritzes a little into each batch of this product.
While the Brora sat somewhere deep in the chemical make up of the whisky, the Clynelish was far more apparent. That was no surprise considering the bulk of the whisky came from 2015-2016 casks from the distillery. While Dornoch’s own whisky only made up about 25%of the blend, its character really stood out in those odder herbal and slightly plastic notes.
Overall, I thought this was delightful as a casual sipper. It was slightly unusual and eccentric; not so much that it would stand out in a tasting line up, but enough to keep things interesting as it was otherwise well-composed and gentle.
