Origin: Lowlands (Scotland
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 49.9%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: MacGregor Thomson Whiskies Ltd
Average price: € 550.00
Official website: finnthomson.com
Vote: 89/100
While it is easy for historic independent bottlers to talk about their roots in the world of whisky, more recent bottlers often rely simply on the passion of the founders.
Finn Thomson has done extensive research to link his family to the world of whisky as far back as 1772, when James Thomson was distilling illegally, through the purchase of the Grandtully distillery (which was short-lived) in the first half of the 19th century, up to the last century with the Perth shop run by Peter Thomson who created his own blend, Golden Beneagles.
And it’s from the heritage of casks passed from generation to generation that Finn draws on for his company, founded in 2017, starting bottling under his own name from 2022, calling himself a Master Bottler.
The Private Cask Collection is divided into three lines: The Core Collection, made up of bottlings between five and fourteen years old; The Crown Collection, with rarities (currently only a Glenlivet 50yo); and The Rare Collection, with whiskies at least thirty years old from which this bottle comes.
Distilled in October 1989, bottled in July 2022 from a single hogshead cask in 180 cask strength bottles, chosen by Finn from three samples on a day out camping with his father and grandfather: talk about family tradition.
Tasting notes
On the nose, it’s a fruit salad (pear, peach, white grape skin and kiwi) with drops of lime, chestnut honey, toffee, beeswax and lemon tart, with a lively balsamic note impregnating every scent in which, at times, an impression of dried mushrooms peeps out. A sweetness to which the acid part imparts an austere, almost algid demeanour.
An acidity that remains very evident on the palate as well, giving ample room to white pepper and lemon that scurry around the mouth, taking up the theme of fruit always declined in shades of white, with incursions of pineapple over the domination of pear and kiwi. Little room for sweetness, a drink as sour as life of which only the vegetal, balsamic and mycological part manages to break the hegemony, opening the door to tobacco, almonds and chalk. Along the length, salty notes and a faint puff of smoke, while vanilla and honey become spectators in the pigeonhole.
The finish is long and dry, inevitably tart and balsamic, with mentholated traits, lime, nuts, pear, tobacco, dried mushrooms and salt.
If anyone still thinks Auchentoshan has no personality, they should try this bottle: elegant, rigorous, merciless even, with as much to tell from the cask as from the distillate, even unexpectedly. The price, of course, is a deterrent, but if you are lucky enough to even taste it, you will have a truly unique experience.