Teeling Whiskey, located in Dublin, Ireland, are a part of the new craft distilling scene emerging in Irish Whiskey, though, as per usual, they claim a heritage of distilling dating back to 1782. Distilling operations at Teeling began in 2015, though the company started in 2012. With Master Distiller Alex Chasko, an American ex-pat formerly of Bridgeport Brewery, in Portland, OR, Teeling have been racking up awards for their range of Irish Whiskeys, including a "Small Batch" corn/barley blend, a Single Malt (100% barley), and this "Single Grain," which is 95% corn and 5% barley. Doing the math on a 5 year matured product, bottled in 2015 means this batch is all sourced barrels, with no information available on where from, though Teeling's website states that it was column distilled. The copy on the bottle indicates that the spirit was aged in ex-wine casks, apparently California Cabernet Sauvignon, and further finished in ex-rum barrels for 6 months, a relatively unusual and intriguing combination.
Bottled at 92 proof and non chill filtered, (this preserves some lipid content in the spirit, necessitating a higher bottling proof to prevent haze) the whiskey pours a bright yellow-gold, with a noticable green cast. Wine tannins jump right out on the nose, followed on by a hint of brown sugar and vanilla, presumably from the rum casks, with shades of cinnamon and some greener wood notes. Typically a corn whiskey might be oilier on the nose, but the drying effect of the tannin, combined with the increased bottling proof, leaves a lighter, sharper impression. The palate is similarly bright, with fleeting notes of caramel corn followed on by vanilla custard and nutmeg. The finish is warm, minty and a bit dry, there are some further tannic notes here, however, the overall impression is not of mature wood, but a younger, greener cask, ex-bourbon, for example. The whole experience tend to leave you with the sensation that you missed something accidentally. It's a whiskey that sips well, offering the general outlines of a straight bourbon with somewhat more depth and restraint, but the finish fails to fully close the loop and I'm left wanting a little more wine or a little more corn somewhere.
For many, the phrase Irish Whiskey is almost synonymous with a single brand; hopefully Teeling and others will be able to shift the conversation to include a more diverse array of offerings. Ireland has the opportunity to become a haven for inventive, unusual whiskeys in the UK, a market largely dominated by traditional products from large, well-established distilleries. This Single Grain is a step in that direction, combining elements of bourbon and single malt, though not so well that it could take the place of either.
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Bottled at 92 proof and non chill filtered, (this preserves some lipid content in the spirit, necessitating a higher bottling proof to prevent haze) the whiskey pours a bright yellow-gold, with a noticable green cast. Wine tannins jump right out on the nose, followed on by a hint of brown sugar and vanilla, presumably from the rum casks, with shades of cinnamon and some greener wood notes. Typically a corn whiskey might be oilier on the nose, but the drying effect of the tannin, combined with the increased bottling proof, leaves a lighter, sharper impression. The palate is similarly bright, with fleeting notes of caramel corn followed on by vanilla custard and nutmeg. The finish is warm, minty and a bit dry, there are some further tannic notes here, however, the overall impression is not of mature wood, but a younger, greener cask, ex-bourbon, for example. The whole experience tend to leave you with the sensation that you missed something accidentally. It's a whiskey that sips well, offering the general outlines of a straight bourbon with somewhat more depth and restraint, but the finish fails to fully close the loop and I'm left wanting a little more wine or a little more corn somewhere.For many, the phrase Irish Whiskey is almost synonymous with a single brand; hopefully Teeling and others will be able to shift the conversation to include a more diverse array of offerings. Ireland has the opportunity to become a haven for inventive, unusual whiskeys in the UK, a market largely dominated by traditional products from large, well-established distilleries. This Single Grain is a step in that direction, combining elements of bourbon and single malt, though not so well that it could take the place of either.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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