Thompson Bros Teaninich 2013 10 year old Stout Finish Single Malt

Photo courtesy of Whiskybase

I'm back after a brief respite and have been working my way through my sample books trying to record in the internet ether my dubious tasting notes and thoughts. Anyway in an effort to get these out more regularly I'm going to stick to one whiskey per review and cut back on the introductory nonsense before getting to the important bits....the tasting notes and the score.

Today we have a malt from a distillery that's probably rather unknown outside of whisky enthusiast circles, Teaninich. To help you pronounce it try saying 'tee-ni-nick'....thanks to the Malt Whisky Yearbook for that helpful nugget of advice.

Owned by Diageo, it's actually their 3rd largest single malt distillery in their portfolio and exists pretty much only for blending. As such you only ever get to try the malt as a 10 year old from the Flora and Fauna range or from independent bottlers.

This example is from the indie darlings that are the Thompson Bros, they of Dornoch Castle and Dornoch distillery fame. It's was filled on 07/02/2013 and bottled in March 2023. Following initial maturation in bourbon casks it then spent 21 months in 2 ex-stout casks. Bottled at 50% abv with an outturn of 482 bottles it cost £49 on release.

Thanks to Tony aka North Coast Drammer for the sample.

Let's taste!

Nose: The stout cask influence is very apparent - bready, draff, fermenting wash. Pine resin and wet moss. Citrus notes of lemon and lime peel. There is also a little unripe peach. Vanilla and icing sugar.

Palate: Nicely mouth coating - immediately there is a white grape like sweetness alongside nectarine and barley sugar. Some yeast extract and that pine note again. Sourdough bread followed by the sharp tang of grapefruit and lime juice.

Finish: Medium length with resin, slate and dried fenugreek.

Score: 6 out of 10

Whiskybase code is WB229820

Overall: An unusual little number this. Very herbaceous and savoury without much in the way of fruitiness. I guess this feels quite old school scotch in that regard. I’m not sure the stout finish is a complete success but overall it’s an interesting dram, but after one pour I feel you’d want to move onto something else. Maybe that mean’s more value for money as you won’t kill the bottle too quick!

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