Thy distillery organized an online tasting at the end of 2024, with a couple of cask samples and new releases. As often with these events, I couldn’t attend the tasting but I decided to go through the samples at my own pace.
We start with a certified organic whisky made from Odyssey barley smoked with beechwood. You’ll find detailed information on the Thy website.
Thy 4 yo 2020 – Beechwood smoked single malt (51%, OB 2024, Oloroso sherry cask #470 + 471, 213 btl.)
Nose: the typical warm-yet-fresh beechwood influence. Dark soot but also a refreshing peppermint-aniseed combination. Some vegetal notes, hints of smoked bacon. Then dried fruits appear, like apricots, raisins and figs. Earthy tobacco and nougat too.
Mouth: thick, oily and sooty, on roasted nuts and caramelized notes. The warmth of the smoke combines so well with these fresh herbs, thin mints, cough drops and light resinous touches. A basket full of wholegrain bread. Fennel seeds. Then back to dark tea, brown sugar and plenty of warm ashes. Really nice.
Finish: long, with more herbs, brown bread with salted butter, fading smoke and a metallic note.
These kind of Oloroso casks are typically destined for the Thy Bøg expression. They were right to keep these two apart, I guess, as the result is really excellent. Among the best Thy whiskies I’ve had so far.
Next: a release from pale malt, caramel malt and beechwood smoked malt, aged in PX, Oloroso and bourbon casks.
Thy Caramel Malt 3 yo 2019-2021 (57,8%, OB 2024, PX + Oloroso + bourbon cask, 365 btl.)
Nose: very grainy, with a lot of malty sweetness and caramelized notes. Have I ever told you I don’t really like caramel, in whisky but also in desserts? There, I said it. Also hints of cocoa powder and hints of latte. The fresher herbal note of beechwood is very much in the background here. Next also heavily infused tea and Demerara sugar. Overall a bit bloated.
Mouth: all about fudge, dark malty notes and plenty of caramelized notes. Chocolate brownies and molasses, more coffee pudding and black tea. Some herbal touches in the distance.
Finish: medium length, with burnt cake, cocoa and coffee.
Not a bad dram, you know, but a little more one-dimensional than other Thy releases. Interesting as a statement of this style, but not one I feel attracted to. Still available from the Thy website. Score: 81/100
Then we have a cask sample that may be bottled in the future.
Thy Bøg-Bourbon 2019 (58,9%, OB 2024, bourbon cask #1260)
Nose: the total opposite – pure freshness. Fresh pine wood with a light resinous edge, as well as some leathery notes and white stone fruits. Only delicate smoke. Then back to lemony notes, some coconut shells and echoes of unripe pineapple.
Mouth: quite oily, with spicy notes and beechwood taking over. Black pepper and ginger, along with nutmeg and hints of roasted pinewood. Some burnt sugar, along with coconut water and vanilla.
Finish: medium to long, rather tangy, with more oak spice, some resinous notes and hints of vanilla.
Perhaps a little too focused on oak spice and smoke, which only flashes of fruits. Overall a bit rough with limited complexity. Score: 84/100
We end this session with a PX sherry limited edition. This matured in Pedro Ximénez hogsheads from the Historic range at Casknolia. These are lightly toasted casks with a slightly higher age and a prolonged wine contact. Thy seems to claim they were seasoned with PX sherry wines but given the cask supplier, the lack of a sherry cask certificate in pictures and the organic PX claim (very rare in Jerez) we have significant doubts: are they sure they haven’t used PX from Montilla for seasoning?
Thy PX 2020 (58,3%, OB 2024, first fill PX sherry casks #389 + 410 + 412, 636 btl.)
Nose: youngish, which means the PX is not extremely loud. Plums and blackberries, sure, but also wet forest floor and old wood. A whiff of matchstick heads as well. Then cocoa powder and a little nutmeg. Rather musty and savoury, wiping out almost all Nordic character.
Mouth: a similar story – I’m not too fond of this savoury PX style, which imparts few fruity notes. Instead we get cocoa, roasted malt, nutmeg and other wood spice. Only a light hint of the beechwood smoke. Then some mossy and earthy hints.
Finish: medium, on roasted coffee beans, old leather , dates and drying cocoa.
I’m not always impressed with Casknolia casks, and here as well it doesn’t entirely work for me. A very savoury and chocolatey style, which makes it a little more generic than the other whiskies. Score: 83/100