We’ve already had nice sessions of Thy Whisky. First a series of 7 releases and then a review of the 2024 core range. Overall they tend to impress despite their young age, making it one of my favourites among the young European distilleries.
We start with two of their Heritage expressions: the Imperial Heritage Barley 2019 and the Heritage Wheat cask #376.
Thy Heritage Barley – Imperial Vintage 2019 5 yo (56%, OB 2024, 7 Oloroso casks + 1 bourbon cask, 931 btl.)
Nose: very malty, showing breads and raw cereal husks, along with dried grassy notes. Then a pleasant sweetness of pear and red berries, along with orange peels and a hint of vanilla cake. The sherry cask brings lots of caramel aromas to the table. Simple but pleasant.
Mouth: richer now, showing plenty of depth and a rich, oily texture. It goes from apple sweetness and butter biscuits all the way to (heavy) peppery spice. In the middle there are lemons, a lot of grainy notes (almost rye whisky), plenty of aniseed and a few drops of herbal bitters. More hay and caramelized notes, as well as drying leafy notes.
Finish: medium, with more of this toffee / grain combo, citrus and nuts.
I prefer bourbon casks in a first encounter with a new barley type, but the end result is really nice. A great texture and a balanced sherry influence are the main assets. Sold out.
The next expressions revolves around heritage wheat. There’s malted emmer and spelt, unmalted øland wheat, malted rye and a bit of malted barley. This ensemble matured together in a single 120-liter virgin oak cask.
Thy Heritage Wheat 2020 (50%, OB 2024, first fill new oak quarter cask #376, 78 btl.)
Nose: less balanced, in the sense that the virgin oak takes the upper hand – a feeling that is highlighted by the spiciness of the grains. Nutmeg, black peppercorns and hints of ground coffee beans. Pencil shavings. Then fresh rye bread appears, with gentle leafy touches and scorched herbs. Hardly any fruits.
Mouth: even more American rye style now. Spicy notes, like pepper and peppermint, nutmeg and cinnamon, with caramelized nuts underneath. Gentle bittersweet notes and liquorice roots. Dark hints of coffee, as well as pine wood and ashy cedar.
Finish: quite long, with more bittersweet notes, leafy hints, liquorice and wood spice.
A whole lot darker than the barley version, and coming close to some American whiskeys at times. I think the wood spice and bitterness is a little too loud here, but it’s an interesting dram. Score: 80/100
The next one is Hawboen, the 23rd limited edition (in fact, it is the penultimate release in the 24-part inaugural series which took 10 years to complete). It consists of pale malt and beechwood smoked malt. It is their first purely bourbon cask aged whisky since 2016.
Thy Whisky No. 23 – Hawboen (51,5%, OB 2023, bourbon casks, 1320 btl.)
Nose: this feels like a reset. Very clean cereals, with hints of aniseed and juniper, as well as some resinonus notes and fresh pine needles. The restrained wood highlights the fruity notes, such as apples and plenty of citrus, with light honey and a mild hint of coconut and vanilla. Then a faint hint of beechwood smoke as well.
Mouth: sweet yellow apples with light honey, hints of sweetened herbal tea and a subtle undertone of wood smoke. Butter biscuits with salt flakes. Then more pine, mint, juniper and a very light bitter edge. Roasted coconut. Gets quite mineral in the end.
Finish: medium, on roasted herbs, citrus notes, honey and soft smoke.
Nice to see a pure bourbon expression again. Moreover I think the beechwood smoked malt is also a very typical element in the Thy profile. It may get a tad bitter here and there, but I think it’s a beautiful young composition. Available from the distillery website, but this one can also be bought from The Whisky Exchange. Score: 86/100
The last one is a similar mix of pale malt and beechwood smoked malt. It comes from PX and Oloroso casks this time.
The distillery explains that some sherry casks in their warehouse stand out with extra deep sweetness and old, earthy, and complex notes from many years of aging sherry wines in southern Spain. For this release they selected seven intense PX sherry casks and three extra fruity and vinous oloroso casks.
I’m quite leery when it comes to sherry casks, and when I see the name Tonelería del Sur (in Montilla) and sizes from 64 liter over 120 liter to 500 liter, I wonder whether these were seasoned with proper sherry wine.
Thy Whisky PX & Oloroso (49,5%, OB 2024, 1268 btl.)
Nose: brown sugar, figs and plums, with a good dose of sweet malty notes and tobacco. Then milk chocolate, caramelized almonds, nougat. Whiffs of cinnamon pastry. Some lightly earthy herbs, as well as more heady notes of mint and faint citrus.
Mouth: quite thick and oily, with a caramelized layer and some roasted notes. The warming beechwood smoke starts light but picks up weight along the way, always keeping its typical herbal edge. Dried fruit and butterscotch underneath.
Finish: medium length, slightly drier, with cigar boxes, liquorice and caramelized nuts.
Here as well, the beechwood smoked malt works nicely with Oloroso and PX. As soon as the inaugural series is complete, this should become a regular release, in my opinion. Score: 87/100