This whisky is the second bottling in the Thiron series of single malts from the Lowland distillery of Lindores. The series honours the Thironensians of the Thiron-Gardais Abbey near Paris, France. They were the founders of Lindores Abbey in Scotland. At the heart of the whisky is a pocket of spirit matured in virgin Thiron oak (a sub species of French oak) barriques. This is complimented by spirit matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and first-fill STR (Shaved, Toasted and Re-charred) ex-red wine casks.
Lindores is located in Fife, about an hour north of Edinburgh. This is part of the Lowlands region. A new distillery was built on the site of the old Lindores Abbey monastery. The monastery was home to the monk Friar John Cor, who was mentioned in the earliest known written reference to whisky making in Scotland. It is recorded in The Exchequer Roll: “To Friar John Cor, 8 bolls of malt, wherewith to make Aqua Vitae for King James IV”. One boll is equivalent to 145 modern litres, therefore the order was for approximately 1.160 litres.
Lindores is owned by The Lindores Distilling Company. It began production in 2017 and has an annual volume of 190,000 litres. All barley used in the distillery is grown in local fields. First bottles were available only to members of Lindores’ founders club. The first core release – Lindores MCDXCIV – was released in June 2021. There have also been several limited small batches series released – The Casks of Lindores, Friar John Cor Cask Strength Congregation, and this Thiron amongst them.
The Lindores Thiron 2025 Edition is bottled at 49.4% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. It is available in limited quantities in selected global markets and via lindoresabbeydistillery.com. A bottle will cost £65.
Our Tasting Notes
The colour is deep gold and the nose is bold and expressive. A distinctive green aroma of cut grass, is joined by plenty of vanilla essence. It then becomes more woody, which evolves to be reminiscent of toasted hazelnut. Some crisp green apple, jammy red berries and icing sugar sweetness sit in the background, as do hints of burnt chocolate and spent coffee grounds.
On the palate this whisky is distinctly sweet versus savoury. It feels silky initially with notes of milk chocolate with plenty of vanilla ice cream and good custard. Then comes some red berry – think of confected raspberry and cranberry jam especially – and some caramelised green apple. The whisky also has extra sweetness in the form of caramel and toffee. The savoury notes then begin to push through. There are characteristics of buttered toast and dusty baking spices. A late hint of bitterness and dryness is accentuated by a hot and peppery note.
The finish feels nutty and creamy to begin with, but then switches to become oaky and tannic. This gives a definitive dryness and woodiness with hints of bitter chocolate and cocoa powder coming through nicely. Some hot and feisty white pepper leaves a lasting warmth.
What’s The Verdict?
This is an interesting release from Lindores and one that takes the spirit in a different to direction to the other bottlings. An intriguing mix of sweet versus savoury with the woody notes coming from the French Thiron oak particularly prominent. This gives it added punch and boldness. We have not sampled the first bottling to compare how it differes, but if you like sweetness with big drying woody flavours then search the Thiron out.
