Thompson Bros. Diamond Nauticus & RMW 2004

This is a 2004 Diamond single cask from Scottish independent Thompson Bros., drawn off the single wooden pot still and aged fourteen years before bottling at cask strength, 56 percent. Thompson Bros. has a strong reputation for honest, unembellished single casks, and this Nauticus and RMW release captures the heavier, wood-driven side of Diamond rather than the lighter Savalle column character.

Molasses distillate from a wooden pot still carries weight and a pronounced ester lift, here framed by vanilla and dark chocolate on the nose with a spirity edge from the strength. The palate is spicy and oak-forward with vanilla underneath, and the finish stays spicy and woody. There is no added sugar in this style of bottling, so the sweetness is barrel-derived rather than dosed, and a few drops of water help open the fruit beneath the oak.