Thompson Bros. Sideburn (Balvenie) 35YO, 1989/2025, 51%

Phil & Simon Thompson (PST) Balvenie

Product Details

• Type : Blended Malt Whisky
• Vintage : 1989
• Bottled : 2025
• Cask Type : Refill Casks
• Age : 35 Years Old
• Strength : 51%
• Content : 700ml

No box originally

Whiskybase: 90.96 pts (25 votes for reference as at 2026.03.10)

Whiskybase Lowest price: £254.95 as at 2026.03.10 for reference

Price Details

Cash/PayMe/FPS Price: $2,320

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Credit Card Price: $2,400

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Online tasting note for reference:

Nose: The nose opens with an instant sweet, custardy apple aroma, lots of freshly chopped yellow apple flesh mixed with a creamy vanilla custard. It's old whisky, the age is really shining through here. Going back, we're also finding light fudge, some shortbread, as well as a little peach, more juice than flesh, too. The alcohol is gentle, balanced and well integrated, you don't get any aggressive spice, but it's still present enough to give the dram some weight. Air brings out a richer aroma, not so much of cask, but of apricot, honey and aged Sauternes wine. There's also a certain aroma of bung cloth sitting in the background.

Palate: The palate opens with a burst of honey, rich syrupy honey, alongside zesty waxed lemon, apricot jam, mango pulp and a little grapefruit as the palate develops. There's also some artificial watermelon flavouring, clementine and some of those yellow apples we got on the nose. The mouthfeel is really quite good, it's thick, syrupy like and holds its texture through the developing palate. The alcohol feels a tad warmer than the nose let on, but it comes through in more of a gentle white pepper heat. There's still hints of that aged Sauternes wine, a little funky, as well as some almond paste and a little bit of salinity appearing too.

Finish: The reduced palate has lots more yellow apple, peach juice, runny honey, and a little artificial jelly baby sweetness starting to appear. There's less pepperiness, but more grapefruit now - a little pith giving some bitterness to the finish.