Exclusive: Thompson Bros Launch Innovative Mystery Malt Concept

3 Apr

Thompson Brothers Mystery Malt

Dornoch, April 3rd 2025.

Dornoch’s Thompson Brothers have today announced the launch of their brand new single malt concept: their Mystery Malt.

These bottles are due to arrive on retail shelves in the coming weeks. Bottled at 48.5% ABV, each opaque black glass bottle contains one of sixteen different malt whiskies aged from 4 years old to 29 years old. But here’s the thing; you only know which bottle you’ve received when you remove the capsule.

With a retail of £65 per bottle - and everything selected by the Brothers themselves, we asked Phil and Simon to reveal what it’s all about in this Dramface exclusive.

Simon & Phil Thompson:

We bottle multiple casks of Single Malt Scotch Whisky, in black glass, with the same label and %abv. The true contents are hidden on a label under the capsule. The hidden label has the distillery and age. When you open the bottle, the true contents are revealed by a sticker on the cork (also repeated on the glass under the capsule, just in case you get corks mixed up!).

The release is a spread of casks, including casks from new-wave distilleries and stock from establishment distilleries in the 8-15yo range and a minority of casks in the 16-30yo range.

If you scan the QR code on the bottle, you can access breakdowns of each series to assess your options.

hidden easter egg in these images

The Mystery Malt is made possible by working directly with many other companies and distilleries. We tried to design something that is a win for everyone;

Other distilleries get to sell stock that is not cannibalistic to their own offerings, e.g. It's not like going into a shop and choosing between an Ardnamurchan OB single cask or a Thompson Bros Ardnamurchan Single Cask as the name is hidden on the Mystery Malt.
For other distilleries, it's a random introduction to a (possibly) new customer.
For customers, every possibility is at least fair value at £65, with a really good chance of getting something worth way more.
Customers (potentially) get to try something completely new to them.
For retailers it's the ideal product for indecisive customers or people who are looking for something a bit different.

Speaking for Dramface, we see this as exactly the kind of concept and product to inject real playfulness, energy and fun into the single malt sector, with a genuine value prospect for everyone involved.

We can’t wait to start sharing our discoveries of these in our reviews section.