New Arrival of the Week: Lindores Thiron

Our new arrival this week comes from Lindores Abbey Distillery in Fife, which has created an annual series of limited releases. Each will celebrate the historic links with the abbey at Thiron-Gardais, a small town in the Perche region, southwest of Paris. 

The first whisky from the series is Lindores Thiron single malt Scotch whisky. Let’s dig a little deeper into the story of this intriguing creation. 

The Abbey’s team up: Lindores x Thiron

The bottling celebrates 833 years of historic links between Lindores Abbey and l’Abbaye de Tiron. The mediaeval abbey at Thiron-Gardais (founded 1109) is the mother abbey of all Tironensian abbeys, including Lindores and Kelso. Friar John Cor was a Tironensian monk of Lindores, and he was famously ordered in 1494 to make aqua vitae for the king. If you know the story of Lindores, you know why this matters.

We don’t know if the monks at Thiron were producing Aqua Vitae or anything similar at the time. We understand that monks who were part of the Tironensian order founded Lindores. It’s certainly possible that skills learned in Thiron were brought over to Lindores and eventually used to create Aqua Vitae in 1494. Certainly Drew McKenzie Smith, MD and founder of Lindores Abbey Distillery, thinks so. In the press release for this whisky, he says “Without the monks of Thiron-Gardais and the knowledge they passed on to the monks who founded Lindores, the story of whisky as we know it today could be entirely different”.

The abbey at Thiron-Gardais, like Lindores, is no longer an active place of worship. But it is being preserved by the residents of Thiron-Gardais and Lorena Baez Subiabre, Lindores Abbey’s head blender, says the brand has “A wonderful relationship with Thiron”. She adds that is true, particularly with the mayor, Victor Provot, and Stephane Bern, who recently purchased and renovated the beautiful royal college next to the Abbey. “We have visited the village and abbey several times, and have always been keen to maintain our historic friendship through exchanges and collaborations. When we came to them with the idea of using Thiron oak (and replanting the trees used), they were delighted to support,” Subiabre explains.

How Lindores Thiron was made

Lindores Thiron was matured in red wine barriques, Old Forester bourbon casks, and French virgin oak casks from trees grown in the Thiron-Gardais area. The Thiron Virgin oak casks are made with European oak and add notes of cinnamon spices, maple syrup and roasted chestnuts, according to Subiabre. “The roasted chestnut aromas are derived from the wood process during barrel-making, including a heat treatment stage where the casks undergo strong charring”. This adds to the whisky’s aromatic roasted notes and was designed to play off the fruity creamy character that is Lindores Abbey Distillery’s DNA.

Subiabre says this combination of casks at the right ratios “Worked like magic in the formula of Thiron”. She adds: “There is a good chemistry between these casks, they complement each other very well. The sweet element in the formula comes from the virgin oak as maple syrup, from the Old Forester bourbon like caramel, toffee notes and touches of berry and plum jam from the red wine barriques. On the other hand, the spice notes present themselves as cinnamon and baking spices derived from all three casks in their own unique way”.

The single malt Scotch whisky was bottled at a feisty 49.4% ABV, non-chill filtered. Lindores Abbey Distillery arranged for oak trees to be planted around Thiron-Gardais to replace those used to create the casks for the French bottling. We’re told that 40 trees have been planted so far but the brand intends to plant more in the future.

Lindores Thiron review

What we can expect from the future of this series is more, more, more. The Lindores Thiron whiskies of the future are maturing now, with future editions due to demonstrate an evolution of the character we see in the first release. 

“The relationship between the whisky and the wood over the years is fascinating. Every cask has a unique profile, and we assess every single one that is in the Thiron formula, carefully considering the decision of when each cask is ready,” says Subiabre. “The Thiron whisky will evolve over the years developing intensifying aromas and flavours. We can say that every bottle from the series will be a well-balanced and complex dram with the exceptional quality and character of a Lindores Abbey Distillery whisky”.

The new whisky also gives us a chance to see how Lindores Abbey’s whisky is developing. We’re fortunate to have tried a number of expressions from the distillery, from its first release and beyond. My point of comparison is the MCDXCIV Whisky, which is all malty and crisp, with orchard fruit, dairy cream, vanilla, gooseberries, and floral notes. 

Thiron is darker and oakier, the chewy, dense nature of European oak makes its mark while there’s a huge dusting of aromatic spice throughout. This would make a nice after-Christmas dinner dram. The texture isn’t as viscous as I’ve come to expect from the distillery’s offerings so far, it’s a little thinner but then also more refined. I got a slight rubbery note that I didn’t like but otherwise thought the various casks were integrated well and added up to a whisky I can’t say I’ve tasted before. Which is saying something these days. Here’s a full tasting note. 

Lindores Thiron tasting note:

Nose: Gingernut biscuits, ripe plum, pear, cinnamon syrup, banoffee pie, marzipan. Then vanilla pastry, white chocolate, marmalade, and polished oak. 

Palate: Burnt toast with caramel and blackberry jam spread over it. More dark fruits biscuits, clove, nutmeg, cooked apple, orange rind, and black pepper in support. Plus a lot of oak. A forest of the stuff. Warm, toasty oakiness aplomb. 

Finish: Garden herbs, drying bitter oak, rubber, and coffee cake.

You can buy Lindores Thiron from Master of Malt now. 

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