My week of reviews of whiskeys from Teeling got off to a very shaky start on Monday (with the Single Grain) before looking up on Wednesday (with the Small Batch). Will the upward trajectory continue with the Single Malt? This miniature was purchased, along with the others, at the distillery last week. I assume it represents the current release. If so, it’s a true Frankenstein’s monster of a whiskey, put together from spirit that was fully matured in sherry casks and spirit that received finishes in cabernet sauvignon, white burgundy, madeira and port casks. I’m not sure, however, what the makeup is in terms of age. When the Teeling Single Malt was first released the oldest whiskey in the vatting was said to go back to the 1991 vintage. Is that still true? Or do they have older whiskey from some other distillation year in there? I would assume they would have wanted to maintain consistency. The other question, of course, is whether at some point this release will turn to using only the malted whiskey currently being distilled on premises. If so, that will be a much younger whiskey. I’ve not been able to find—from desultory googling, I will admit—much information on the current and projected composition of Teeling’s releases and the plans for their own distilled spirit. If you know more about all of this, please do write in below.

Teeling Single Malt (46%; from a miniature)

Nose: A big fruity arrival with the wine influence quite palpable: grapes, melon, lemon zest. Quite a lot of cereals below the fruit. The fruit gets sweeter as it sits and there’s some vanilla and some toasted oak as well. With more time the cereals expand as well. A couple of drops of water push the cereals and oak back and emphasize the sweeter fruit.

Palate: Comes in as indicated by the nose with the fruit leading the way—a little more cough syrupy here. A good drinking strength and good texture. On the second and third sips there’s a bit more of the lemon zest but the spicy oak also emerges earlier. Gets a little spirity as it sits and the sweet notes turn more floral. With more time still the oak influence expands further: it gets more bitter and there’s a talcum powder note to the sweetness. Let’s see if water fixes things. Yes, it makes it less bitter and emphasizes the citrus.

Finish: Long. The fruit yields to slightly spicy oak (powdered ginger, a bit of cinnamon). Thankfully, the bitterness that develops on the palate doesn’t follow through here. Some white pepper here with water.

Comments: I liked this the best of the three for sure, but it’s still not anything I want a bottle of. Very driven by the multiple wine finishes and a bit of a jumble as a result. And if there’s still any older whiskey in here, there can’t be very much of it: this tastes very young and quite oak-driven.

Rating: 82 points.