Glenmore's Old Thompson Blended (43%)

The Glenmore Distillery was opened in 1904 by the Thompson brothers in Owensboro, Kentucky. Old Thompson blended whiskey is a brand which continues in existence today. The distillery and its brands were bought by Barton in 1995, which in turn were bought by Sazerac Company in 2009. The Glenmore distillery is no longer in operation. I assume that the current Old Thompson whiskey is a product of the Barton distillery. The reviewed bottle is a 50 ml mini with a tax stamp showing that it could have been sold no later than 1977. This mini might be as old as from the late 1950s. The whiskey in question contains 37 1/2% four year old whiskey, and the remaining 62 1/2% of contents are grain neutral spirits

Nose: strong intensity, especially for only 37 1/2% whiskey content. This smells of spice from rye, combined with both new wood and used wood, a lot like many Canadian whiskies. Research led me to believe that this would be horrible. It is not, except for a bit of an industrial undertone, also like many Canadian whiskies. There are no awards here, but this (nose) isn't too bad

Taste: prickly wood, too far to the tannic and bitter. In the mouth this is pretty rugged stuff

Finish: sour, bitter, and tannic. Leaves a pretty bad taste

Balance: the nose promised a 70-something whiskey, but the mouth did not deliver. 62 1/2% grain neutral spirits in the blend did not keep Glenmore's Old Thompson Blended Whiskey from having adequately strong flavours. The problem is that they are pretty bad flavours. Glenmore's Old Thompson Blended Whiskey lives up to its bad reputation