Lindores Abbey Distillery has announced the launch of its first bottle in an annual series of limited releases celebrating its historic links with the abbey at Thiron-Gardais, a small town in the Perche region, southwest of Paris.
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 it is he who was famously ordered in 1494 to make aqua vitae for the king.
The spirit has been matured in red wine barriques, bourbon casks, and virgin French oak casks taken from trees grown in the Thiron-Gardais area. Lindores Abbey Distillery places great importance on environmental preservation and has arranged for oak trees to be planted around Thiron-Gardais to replace those used to create the casks for the French bottling.
The spirit (49.4% ABV) is non-chill filtered, and has initial notes of mellow vanilla, caramel syrup and baking spices, giving way to ginger and roasted chestnuts. The smoothy, silky texture is synonymous with the character of Lindores spirit.
The design of the bottle pays homage to the beautiful columns and architecture of both abbeys while the cork bears the inscription “May Our Roots Be Forever Intertwined,” the same message which appears in French on a plaque gifted to the French village by the McKenzie Smith family on a visit to Thiron.
Drew McKenzie Smith, MD and Founder of Lindores Abbey Distillery, commented: “This release is the first in a series of annual limited bottlings which will celebrate the links between our two great abbeys. 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. We want to pay homage to our unique history and create a wonderful spirit which showcases the mastery of the Lindores' team's skills.”
We at That's Food and Drink believe this needs to be given pride of place in the Christmas drinks cabinet.