Right, this is NOT a review. I mean, in a way it is, since there are tasting notes below and I’ll be telling you how much I like this whisky. But I’m not going to be giving a score for a very good reason: I personally selected Single Cask #269 when I visited Thy Distillery earlier this year.
Instead, I’d like to include you in my process and explain why I picked this cask to be bottled exclusively for the Dutch market. First, let me set the stage. Midway through June I made my way up to Thy Distillery in Denmark, about an eight hour drive from my home in the Netherlands. It’s located in the upper west corner of Northern Jutland, just outside of Thy National Park.
It is a friendly, inviting part of the country that’s popular amongst tourists but isn’t flooded by them. Although some locals would disagree with me. While I could almost not believe how quiet the roads were, residents clearly noticed an uptick in visitors so shortly before summer season would start properly.
Thy National Park is characterised by rolling hills covered in barley, rye or wheat. The highest point in the National Park is Isbjerg, which literally translates to iceberg, even though there’s no ice for many miles. It isn’t that high either, only 56 metres above sea level. The people that live there seem in touch with their surroundings, whether they are farmers caring for their crops, or surfers enjoying the waves in Cold Hawaii – a nickname for the small surfing town of Klitmøller.
This was my second time visiting Thy Distillery, a distillery located on a farm and estate that has been in the family for eight generations. My first trip was just a year earlier in 2023, during which I fell hard for Thy. At the time I had already developed an affinity for their whisky, starting with my first sip of a single cask bottled by Berry Bros & Rudd. And just a few months earlier I had interviewed co-founder Jakob Stjernholm. But seeing up close the philosophy and passion of this family-run distillery made me a convert.
Consider this quote from Stjernholm: “It’s about being farmers. Being mindful of this farm, this place. Thinking about legacy and the history of organic farming and the grains you grow. Wondering whether if you try to do it just a little bit better – growing the grains the right way, harvesting them right, or using the right variety – can that help create quality in the end?”
At the time whisky from Thy Distillery wasn’t available in the Netherlands yet, so I then played a small role in helping them find their Dutch distributor, Hogshead Imports. I’m not going to pretend that wasn’t partly out of self-interest. Thy was finally launched in the Netherlands in early May. Around the same time Toon van Rooij, founder of Hogshead Imports, asked if I would like to select a cask for the Dutch market.
I considered this offer for about two seconds. Then I wholeheartedly agreed. It added a new layer to my most recent visit in June. Those travel plans were made long before Toon contacted me. I had plans to attend the inaugural Thy Whisky Festival and host a tasting, but also to explore the farm distillery in-depth for a feature article in Whisky Magazine. Why not pick a cask also?
Choosing a cask can be tricky business. In the end I followed my heart, but there were many considerations before settling on my final choice. For example, I could’ve made a more commercial decision. One of the cask samples was drawn from a Pedro Ximénez cask. It was big, intense and extravagant. I’m convinced it would’ve sold based on the colour alone. That’s not what I was looking for though.
Thy is a distillery that values grain above all. As Stjernholm says, they’re grain nerds first and whisky geeks second. The PX cask overshadowed the barley. Overall, I didn’t think it was the best example of the distillery’s ethos. It helped me realise I wanted to pick a whisky that was quintessential Thy, and there’s nothing more Thy than beechwood smoked whisky.
I fell in love with this Danish alternative to peat smoked whisky a few years ago. It’s more subtle and delicate. More nostalgic also. I didn’t grow up with peat, nor did most Europeans. Peat isn’t as omnipresent on the European mainland as it is in Scotland. However, I do have fond memories of bonfires and the accompanying wood smoke permeating my clothes, hair and nostrils. These memories are triggered by Thy’s beechwood smoked whiskies.
Finally, I narrowed it down to two beechwood whiskies. One from an ex-bourbon quarter cask, the other from a barrel. I ended up preferring the quarter cask, which turned out to be half empty – part of it was already used for another multi-cask bottling. The extra headroom in the cask gave the whisky more opportunity to breathe and interact with oxygen. I believe that has worked in its favour.
I’d like to add one final remark about impartiality before moving on to my tasting notes. I don’t work in the whisky industry, but I’ve been on the outside looking in for a long while now. You get to know people that work with brands, or in this case own and run a distillery. Some brands I like better than others, simply because I like the people. I can’t just shut off being human.
Being impartial is important to me when reviewing whisky, but it is not always easy. I take into account my personal feelings towards a brand, and then try to ignore them during a tasting session. That’s not always going to work fully, now is it? But it is the only way I can think of doing this in a way that is as honest as possible.
Honesty is also why I’m providing so much context. I could’ve chosen not to write about this project at all, but that would have been a disservice to myself and, I think, my readers. This is me sharing my passion for whisky, and in particular my fondness for Thy Distillery. Not just through writing about them, but in this instance by choosing a cask that I hope will bring joy to many whisky enthusiasts.
What’s also important to know is that I do not receive any compensation for this project. Maybe that’s shortsighted and I could’ve been more commercial, but that wouldn’t have felt right. You can be confident that my tasting notes are not written in an attempt to sell the whisky. They’re born out of my own enthusiasm for this wonderful beechwood-smoked single malt from Thy Distillery.
Thy Distillery 2019 5 Years (58.7%, OB, C#269)
Nose: Gentle notes of lemon balm, bonfire and fresh teak wood. It’s warm and comforting, highlighted by the smell of roasted chestnuts. There’s also a barley sweetness, touches of cigar boxes and a whiff of eucalyptus. Then notes of brioche, some toffee and even a flash of liquorice. And it keeps evolving! Now more along the lines of marzipan and almond paste with that bonfire smoke ever-present.
Taste: That warm and comforting feeling continues. Gentle notes of cracked black peppercorn accompanied by wood smoke, angelica root and cedar. Also aniseed, breakfast cereals with honey and caraway, with finally a tinge of smoked caramel. Slightly herbacious in the best way.
Finish: Medium length with whispers of nutmeg, a shade of rye and just a touch of cappuccino, with that savoury wood smoke reprising its role as the dependent bass player.
