🥃 Down The Rabbit Hole: Part 2 - W.B Thomson
- Jun 21
- 4 min read
Last week’s email focused on J&A Davidson, whisky merchants, distillers and brewers - based in Coldstream in the Scottish Borders.
At the end of that email, I hinted at J&A Davidson’s acquisition of a business known as W.B Thomson.
Now, this might not be a name you’ve heard of. But researching this took me down so many twisty, turny paths that it would have been a shame not to share it with you. If for no other reason than it demonstrates just how the Scotch whisky industry was so intertwined - and, actually, probably still is.
So, who was W.B Thomson?
The man himself was William Burns Thomson - although his full name was William Chalmers Burns Thomson. For one reason or another, he didn’t use the ‘Chalmers’ bit. Probably because his name was already long enough.
The eponymous W.B Thomson, established in 1851, was a successful wine and spirits business based in Perth. William, however, would have been just eleven years old then and there’s no evidence to suggest he was some kind of child prodigy entrepreneur.
So, I’m not sure where this date originates from. William did start out running a wine and spirits business on South Street in Perth with his brother, Alexander - more about him later - but that wasn’t until 1860. William then started out on his own and established W.B Thomson - still in the Fair City but over on Canal Street.
William was considered to be quite a talented blender and this led to him being appointed as a director of the Burntisland Distillery Company in the 1880s, which owned Grange Distillery in ahem Burntisland.
Then, in 1895, William acquired an inn in Blackford and started the construction of a brewery on the same site. He died in 1896 before the brewery was completed the following year.
The downturn in both the brewing and whisky trades at the beginning of the 1900s led to W.B Thomson being put up for sale. Enter J&A Davidson (Coldstream) Ltd. In 1922, they purchased the goodwill of the business... but not the premises. Those went to James Calder & Co Ltd, hailing from Alloa and a prominent name in the brewing trade for a good many years.
Now, Plot Twist #1.
William had two brothers - one of whom was Alexander, who I mentioned earlier.
Alexander’s son was the well-known Perth blender and spirit merchant, Peter Thomson, who originally created the Old Perth blend. There’s plenty of information about him HERE on independent bottler Finn Thomson’s website. Finn is, of course, a direct descendant.
However, there’s no mention there of William Chalmers Burns Thomson.
Finn also mentions on his site that Alexander’s (and, hence, William’s) cousins - Donald and James - were the proprietors of Grandtully Distillery, near Aberfeldy. And paid subscribers can read more about the history and people behind this lost distillery tomorrow.
Now, after William Chalmers Burns Thomson’s death in 1896, the business was run by a board of trustees before it was converted into a limited company. And, so, two years later, the company held its statutory meeting.
From this short newspaper article, you’ll notice two things. Firstly, that the Chairman of the Directors was Alexander Thomson. Now, this wasn’t William’s brother - he had died in 1891. This was William’s son.
But, secondly, take a look at the end and - Plot Twist #2 - you can see that a Mr J.T Eadie was appointed as Secretary.
Now, Eadie - that’s a name that should ring a very loud bell amongst you whisky enthusiasts!
Our man was actually James Thomson Eadie, whose uncle was the eponymous James Eadie, of independent bottler fame.
James Thomson Eadie’s father (and, hence, James Eadie’s brother) was William Eadie.
And remember that inn I mentioned that W.B Thomson acquired in 1895? Well, that belonged to William Eadie Jnr. And you can still see the ‘inn’ today in its former guise of The Blackford Hotel. Behind it, are the maltings originally built by W.B Thomson Ltd.
William Eadie Snr’s brother, Robert, was also in the brewing trade, having established his own brewery in Blackford. After Robert’s death in 1859, the brewing and malting business was carried on by his three sons. And then by two - Robert Jnr and George - after one brother, John, left the partnership. Subsequently, when Robert Jnr died in 1890, George was on his own.
Like some kind of Agatha Christie: Death At The Brewery, George died in 1903 and then there were none.
This lead to the eventual closure of the brewery in 1911.
But you’re here for the Scotch whisky history, right? So, how does this all tie in?
Well, after 1911, the brewery buildings were used to store potatoes, of all things. Until 1947. And, with that date, the whisky geeks amongst you have probably already worked out Plot Twist #3...
The buildings were acquired and converted by William Delmé Evans, resulting in the first distillery to be built since the Pattison Crash: Tullibardine Distillery.
But hang on a wee second. The Thomson in James Thomson Eadie - could it be linked to W.B Thomson?
Well, William Eadie Jnr did marry a Christina Thomson in 1860. But this is going to require a bit more research on my part. And, for now, with all these twists and turns, I’m a wee bit dizzy so am off for a lie down.
Look out for Part 3 next week when we return to Coldstream!
Slà inte! Justine