This particular cask has been finished in a Rivesaltes wine cask. Nestled in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, close by Perpignan, the area produces wines renowned for their sweet, rich flavours, often enjoyed as dessert wines and digestifs. Finn first visited this region of France as a 17 year old while trekking and climbing in the Pyrenean Mountains, just west of where this outstanding wine is produced. Bottling and sampling this whisky brings Finn back to fond memories of that expedition long ago.

The decision to bottle this cask was made in one of Finn's favourite whisky bars in the world - The Black Cat in Edinbrugh. The bar team let Finn pour his own samples while catching up with his Czech importer. They both agreed that this was the stand out sample from the batch of 12 that they tried. The nutty style of Blair Athol combines with the sweet ripe fruit influences from the cask providing a perfect crossover between the rugged highlands of Scotland and the sun kissed hills of South West France. 

Finn always loves bottling casks of Blair Athol. He believes that the distillery's nutty character forever shines through no matter what cask type is used for maturation.

About the Producer

Finn’s 6x great-grandfather James Thomson, born in 1713, was farming by day and, as dusk falls, distilling a secret that will one day become his family’s legacy: aqua vitae, the water of life.

Read the rest of the great family history on the Finn Thomson website

Representing the ninth generation, Finn Thomson is a young man who has inherited his family’s 300-year-old passion for whisky.

Thirsty to pair passion with knowledge, Finn sought opportunities to learn every aspect of the bottler’s craft: spending time with Miguel Torres in Spain and Casa Pedro Domecq in Mexico, as well as tutelage from some of Britain’s best-known Scotch whisky merchants.

Fuelled by the natural instinct for creativity and entrepreneurship that has pulsed through Thomson veins for centuries, Finn is now embarking on his biggest adventure yet. With a reverence for those who have walked before him, Finn Thomson is bringing new life to the family business. The story continues for the next generations.