Since I started my whisky journey I’ve been lucky enough to have some amazing experiences. Beautiful experiences in the glass, and everything surrounding our beloved dram. From distillery trips, to whisky dinners. But the one experience that still sits at the top of that list is the Thalassa Sailing Trip I took to Scotland together with my mom. So when dutch Indie bottler King Cask (from my beloved Terschelling) released a set of 5 year old Ardbeg’s matured on the Thalassa, I knew I had to get my hands on (at least) one. Between the Oloroso and PX, I chose the Thalass Ardbeg PX!
One of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet going to Dutch Whisky fairs is Joris Dam. The man behind King Cask! And it was through his Instagram that I learned of these knew releases, which led me to immediately scour the internet for a bottle. Three words were enough to sell me on this bottle: Thalassa; Ardbeg; PX. The reason this King Cask release is dubbed Thalassa Whisky is because of its 7 month dynamic aging aboard the Tallship.
Dynamic aging
Dynamic aging has been a much discussed subject amongst whisky lovers lately. I’ve heard it mentioned many times that the sloshing in the cask wouldn’t actually impact flavour build-up in the whisky. What I know for sure though, is that different climates have their own unique impact on a cask. And dynamic aging aboard the Tallship means spending time around the Scottisch Isles for one of it’s whisky or hiking trips. But it also means sailing through the Caribbean for School at Sea! I’m no scientist and I have no idea wether the rolling of the waves will impact the flavour of what I’m about to sip, but I know for a fact that those different climates will have had a huge impact. And that makes this dram utterly unique!
If you ever feel like having the trip of a lifetime, to see the distilleries you love from the open sea, to come ashore and sample drams straight from the warehouses, to have an expert whisky guide join you on said trip? The list of reasons why goes on and on. In other words, if you feel like the best trip of your life be sure to check out the Tallship Thalassa website and book your trip quickly, as tickets get sold out quickly!
Tasting Notes: King Cask Thalassa Whisky – Ardbeg PX
Stats:
Age: 5 years old
ABV: 57,8% (115,6 proof)
Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottled by: King Cask
Chill-filtered: No
Natural Colour: Yes
Nose:
A mambo rhytm of bolsterous peat and sunripened fruit swings from the glass at every swirl. The nose of this dram is full of fruity flavours such as fresh pineapple, chocolate oranges, canned peaches, dried apricots, and rum soaked raisins. But unmistakenly intertwined with all that fruit sits the classic Ardbeg character. Peaty, ashy and filled to the brim with charred meats.
Palate:
There’s absolutely nothing subtle about the palate of this Thalassa Ardbeg PX, but I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Waves of honeyed apricots are paired with thunderous explosions of pepper and peat. Ground black pepper covers bbq charred rump steak. BBQ’ed pineapples, drizzled in honey, are paired with wood fired dark chocolate smoked truffles. Plenty of complexity, plenty of oomph.
Finish:
The finish is medium long with notes of grape soda, ground black pepper, candied bacon bits, and liquorice root. Some cinnamon sugar and malt reminds me of freshly baked cinnamon rolls that leave me eager to go in for another sip!
Food Pairing:
While you might expect some more savoury advice for a dram like this, personally I would go for a sweet pairing with this dram. A white chocolate souffle, or even just a lovely simply sponge cake would make for a beautiful pairing with this dram. If you must go the savoury route though, black truffles are the way. Incorporated in either Italian cured meats, or drizzled on top of some loaded french fries!
Verdict:
What an absolute gem of a dram! This Thalassa Ardbeg PX by King Cask is a whisky with an amazing backstory and it’s packed to the absolute brim with flavour. What more could you want? Well… I for one would like another bottle haha.
It’s good to know that the other Ardbeg Thalassa release was aged in Oloroso casks. Sadly enough I could only afford one or the other and I ended up choosing the PX for myself. But if the Oloroso is anthing close to this in quality, I might have to spend my next available budget on one of those bottles as well. This was an absolute joy to taste!
