Thompson Bros Brandy Early Landed Brandy 27yo

THOMPSON BROS Early Landed Brandy 27yo 1993 52,3%

Across the Channel

This brandy has been bottled in Scotland by Thompson Bros, an independent whisky bottler, and that’s why it can’t be labeled as cognac. The mention “Early Landed” is known to be Hine’s exception, as it’s the only brand that is allowed to bottle a part of their cognacs out of the cognac region and label them as cognac. Let’s taste this curiosity ! 

Colour : Old gold, orange lights. Heavy irregular tears.

Nose : Cherry syrup at first. Verbena infusion, milk chocolate too.  Hazelnuts cream. Bourbon vanilla. Almond cream. Some sherry cask whisky notes. Hints of nutmeg. Wild and roasted scents explode suddenly. Old leather, sweat, leather cream, cigar. Precious wood, something like mahogany. Quite disturbing but not unpleasant. Cocoa butter. Raisins. Citruses infusion. Could be an armagnac, as it’s round notes of chocolate remembering me the Dartigalongue Folle Blanche. 

Palate : Sweet/oily texture, a bit creamy too. The alcohol could be better integrated, even it’s an high ABV brandy (52,3%).  Coconut milk. young bananas. Vanilla stick. Pinesap. Cigar aromas for sure. A strong one and the opulence of an obscuro for example. Cocoa powder. Dark chocolate. Cinnamon. A little bitterness/dryness on the aftertaste.

Last Notes : Orange liquor. A lot of spicy notes. Cinnamon and nutmeg again, paprika,  caraway, a dash of  balsamic vinegar. A little roundness on cherry sweets. Back to the palate. Bitter chocolate. Orange zest. Brown sugar. Very imprecise. 

This Early Landed Brandy from Thompson Bros is a nice one to taste, but it definitively has a lack of precision and complexity, particularly on the palate. A very surprising and pleasant nose by the way.  

My very subjective note : 86/100

More info on Passion for Whisky website