Thompson Bros Caol Ila 10yo

The Maker

Phil and Simon Thompson are well known to whisky nerds as the managers of the Dornoch Castle Hotel in the northern Highlands - about an hour up the road from Inverness. After a successful ‘kickstarter’ in 2017 they established Dornoch Distillery in a shed and set about becoming an independent bottler to keep the income coming while maturation was underway.

Their philosophy from the start has been to make traditional whisky using traditional techniques. The problem has been this resulting in high costs and a low yield, meaning that they are currently selling their single malt in 50cl bottles that cost around £100. For most whisky drinkers, myself included, this isn’t a good value proposition so I have no intention of picking one up until the situation improves. Despite these costs the distillery and independent releases are doing well enough to fund a new ‘Dornoch South’ expansion which has received a green light from planning authorities.

Alongside these releases the brothers have also won acclaim by producing a series of blended products such as the SRV5 and the TB/BSW. While these names seem a little confusing at first the SRV5 stands for the ‘Station Road Vat 5’ which is a 1200 litre oak vat filled with at least eight year old malt whiskies from across Scotland. Every so often they remove 800 bottles worth from it for sale, leaving around 450 litres to be topped up with new malt. This is effectively a solera system which means it will progressively contain older and older whisky as the batching process continues. In contrast the TB/BSW stands for 'Thompson Bros Blended Scotch Whisky', meaning that it is made from a mixture of malt and grain whisky from across Scotland that has been aged for at least six years. These are both sold at well under £50 ($66USD) and in 70cl bottles. Having tried both they represent good value for money and are well worth checking out. This is especially true of the SRV5 which sits nicely alongside products such as the Campbeltown Loch.

The Expression

It is often said that you can't go wrong with a Caol Ila. The whisky is nearly unbreakable insomuch as no matter what it is aged in, or for how long, it always seems to come out good. In a practical sense that means two things. First that my shelves will never be short of Caol Ila. And second, that it always makes a good basis upon which to compare independent bottlers.

As a result, there have been many Caol Ila's on this blog over the years. I won't repeat what has previously been said about them. Nonetheless, if you want to read more about their history and production methods I suggest a previous entry on their core 12yo.

This bottle is some way from that core release however. This was distilled in 2010 and aged for a decade in two ex-bourbon barrels. It yielded 500 bottles at a strength of 52.9%. As you'd expect from the Thompson Bros the presentation is all natural. I got this from auction in early 2025 for £70 ($93USD). I have since seen it for a bit less. Like most Thompson Bros bottles the art work stands out. This is of a seal exploring a kelp forest.

The Neck Pour

Great, classic Caol Ila on the nose. What comes first is the oil from a tin of smoked mackerel followed by a hefty dose of lemon peel. Then comes the furniture polish, a branch full of ex-bourbon char, finished with a deep earthy peat.

All of this wonderfulness follows on to the palate with a hint of fresh stone fruit on the arrival. After that the peat takes over with a finish that's right back in smoked fish where it all began.

While this isn't a million miles from the core 12yo bottling initially, it manages to enhance every aspect. In part that's from the additional abv, but I suspect most of it comes from a more active cask rather than what Diageo is using for mass production.

The Body

With the benefit of a few months on the shelf the citrus elements are far stronger now. The smoke is still there of course, but the furniture polish has been largely replaced by pine needles. Despite this there's still plenty of oil and an earthy peat. This oiliness is really showing in the legs in the glass. When you tip the glass it is more like syrup than whisky.

All of the above holds onto the palate but the fish oil has subsided a bit. Well, more consumed by peat smoke I suspect. All of this adds up into a great depth of flavour that’s taking this bottle far beyond the core 12yo releases.

Final Thoughts

With the benefit of water some additional floral and herbal notes present themselves on the nose. Heather and lavender for the most part. Alongside this there's an additional ash like note that replaces the earthiness. It also works to weaken the peat.

Put simply this is another very fine Caol Ila which highlights just how good it can be when presented faithfully. I liked this so much I managed to pick up its sister release. A sequential single cask version made by the Thompson Brothers for the London Whisky Club. It's too close a bottling to be worth a separate review, but to my mind that single cask version is very slightly better. You can spot it as the label has some eels swimming around Big Ben (yes I know that's the name of the bell, but let's not get silly about this). Either is well worth picking up if seen again on the secondary market.