Madeira cask whisky got off to a very good start on Monday with an Inchmurrin 13 bottled by the SMWS. It took a step back on Wednesday with a 5 yo Kilchoman. Today I have for you a review of a whiskey as old as the other two put together. Will it end the week on a high note? On the one hand it was a Binny’s selection—usually a good sign. On the other hand, it’s a Teeling and my recent experiences with Teeling were not positive (see here, here, and here). Of course, those three whiskies from their core range have no necessary relationship with this one. Most of these Teeling releases are sourced whiskies. Well, I’m not sure about the miniature of the Single Malt that I reviewed: their own malt whiskey is of age to be bottled. But this 18 yo is definitely sourced as there was no Teeling distillery 18 (or 21) years ago (this was bottled in 2020 from a single cask). Nor do I know if this was a full-term maturation or a finish. I can tell you, though, what I think of it. Continue reading
Category Archives: Teeling
Teeling Single Malt
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. Continue reading
Teeling Small Batch
Living very close to the Teeling distillery, as we currently are, I decided to do a week of reviews of Teeling’s core lineup. Things got off to a very shaky start on Monday with the Single Grain, which I really did not like. Here now is a review of the Small Batch, which is a blend of grain and malt whiskey. As to whether the grain whiskey that goes into this blend is the same as the grain in the Single Grain, I do not know. Nor am I sure of whether the malt whiskey in it is that distilled by Teeling themselves. I assume the odds are decent that it is as the Teeling distillery has now been open for about eight years. The whiskey itself is NAS and if there’s been any indication made about its purported age, I am unaware of it—I haven’t followed whisky marketing for many years now, and even when I did I was not very up on the Irish whiskey scene. As with the miniature of the Single Grain I reviewed, there’s some variance between this miniature and the Small Batch as currently described on the distillery’s website. There it is said to be finished for up to 12 months in rum casks; this label definitively notes a 6-month rum finish (after initial aging in bourbon casks). As to whether the duration of the finish varies from batch to batch, I do not know. I’m also beginning to wonder if there are any Teeling releases that don’t involve maturation or finishes in non-traditional casks. Continue reading
Teeling Single Grain
Well, this wasn’t on the list of potential reviews for July but as I am in Ireland for a spell, it seems appropriate to review some Irish whiskey; and as I am living in Dublin, only 10 minutes walk from the Teeling distillery, it seems all the more appropriate to review something from Teeling. I’ll do you two better: I’ll review three Teeling whiskies this week. Mind, they won’t be anything very exotic. I went over to the distillery a couple of days ago and while they do have a distillery exclusive release, it involves red wine casks and I’m not buying a full bottle of a red wine-bothered whisky without tasting it first. I might yet do so at their bar—but that might depend on what I make of this week’s trio. All of them are whiskies from Teeling’s core portfolio and you don’t have to come to Ireland to drink them—they’re all available in Minnesota. While at the distillery I purchased what they call their “Trinity Pack”, three 50 ml bottles of their Single Grain, Single Malt and Small Batch. First up is their Single Grain, which is a NAS whiskey that is, I think, also a sourced whiskey. My understanding is that the Teeling distillery is only set up to distill single malt and that the grain whiskey—and for that matter, most of the other stuff they put out—is sourced whiskey of one kind or the other. Those who know more about the ins and outs of Teeling should feel free to correct or add detail. Continue reading
Teeling Whiskey, Small Batch
No, this isn’t Teeling whisky from Guadeloupe and it isn’t 8 years old. This is a NAS Irish whisky—it’s just that the sample is from avant garde mixed-media artist, Sku. You may think I’m making fun of him but consider the fact that this sample is of an Irish whiskey finished for 6 months in rum casks. Here’s the short version of the Teeling story: new distillery; hasn’t released any of its own aged spirit yet; in American style is selling purchased whiskey (from Cooley) under its own name; who the hell knows if what they are distilling themselves, once it’s ready to be bottled, will taste anything like the stuff they’re putting out now.
I gather they have more recently put out a single grain whiskey and a single malt whiskey; this one, however, is a blend and it was first released in the US about two years ago . Will it improve my sorry record with Irish whiskeys? I can only hope it will. Let’s see. Continue reading
My Annoying Opinions 