Whiskey making and entrepreneurship has been in the Teeling genes as far back as 1782, when Walter Teeling set up a small craft distillery in the heart of the Liberties district of Dublin.
In 1987 John Teeling bought and converted an old potato alcohol plant into the Cooley Distillery. John's sons, Jack and Stephen worked with their father until it was sold in January 2011 to, what is now, Beam Suntory. As part of the deal, they negotiated the purchase of 16,000 casks of aged whiskey, using this Jack Teeling launched Teeling Whiskey in 2012, and was later joined in the venture by his brother Stephen.
In March 2015 they opened the Teeling Whiskey Distillery the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years, and just a stone’s throw from their ancestral distillery, right in the heart of the Golden Triangle, the historic distilling district of the city.
In 1987 John Teeling bought and converted an old potato alcohol plant into the Cooley Distillery. John's sons, Jack and Stephen worked with their father until it was sold in January 2011 to, what is now, Beam Suntory. As part of the deal, they negotiated the purchase of 16,000 casks of aged whiskey, using this Jack Teeling launched Teeling Whiskey in 2012, and was later joined in the venture by his brother Stephen.
In March 2015 they opened the Teeling Whiskey Distillery the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years, and just a stone’s throw from their ancestral distillery, right in the heart of the Golden Triangle, the historic distilling district of the city.
| Dram | Single Grain | Small Batch | Single Malt |
| Characteristics | 46% ABV, NCF | 46% ABV, NCF | 46% ABV, NCF |
| Distillery info | A single grain whiskey aged exclusively using Cabernet Sauvignon red wine barrels from the Napa Valley in California resulting in an intensely fruity and beautifully amber liquid, with lush berry notes. Nose: Spice and fruit notes mingle with an underlying sweet nose. Taste: Strong spice at the start developing into lush red berries and grapes, with drying tannin effect at the end. Finish: Dry finish dominated by wood and spice. | Casks in the ratio 3:1 of grain and malt whiskey, initially aged in ex-bourbon casks for up to 6 years, and then married together for more than 6 months in ex-rum cask from Central America. Nose: An inviting nose where vanilla and spice dances with bright sweet notes of Rum. Taste: While being very approachable the influence of the rum cask and higher percentage alcohol creates a unique smooth, sweet, slightly woody marriage that sparkles on the tongue. Finish: A sweet spice finish complemented by woody undertones. | A vatting of 5 different wine cask (Sherry, Port, Madeira, White Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon) finished Irish Malt whiskeys. Nose: Vibrant with notes of melon, figs, toffee and lemon. Taste: A balance mix of dry fruits, citrus, vanilla, spice and cloves. Finish: Long with sweetness in harmony with dry tannins from the wood. |
| Appearance |  | ||
| Lovely mid gold in the glass, swirls lead to slow thick legs | Lovely mid gold in the glass, gravity defying swirls which bead up to give an inverted crown effect | Lovely mid gold in the glass, gravity defying swirls which bead and fall as slow thick legs | |
| Nose | Honey and orchard fruit, give a sweet nose with a hint of spice. A little icing sugar and apple come along after the dram has been in the glass for a while. | A earthy nose with cut grass and wood notes. There's some citrus and a hint of vanilla. | Honey and orchard fruit like the grain but with a sweetness rather than the spice. Some notes of plum and toffee. |
| Palate | Thick creamy arrival, loads of sweet honey and spiced stewed apple. There's apricot notes giving a dryness in the mouth. There's a little spice on the tongue but not as much as you'd expect from a young grain. It's yummy! | Another thick creamy arrival, covers the tongue with vanilla and honey,. There's some faint tropical fruit notes - banana, mango and pineapple. I'm sure there is some coconut in there too but it's fleeting. There's a slight bitter note as the end like dark chocolate and a spicy kick of chilli. | Smooth and creamy, maybe not as thick as the other two but equally sweet, loads of honey and toffee. This has more of a spice kick leaving apples and sultanas on the tongue. More sips reveal red berry notes reminiscent of a sherry cask dram but the wine casks have had an influence too. There's some milk chocolate as the dram rolls down your throat. |
| Finish | Sweet honey and a gentle ginger spice, drying. | Spicy drying finish with a hint of sweetness. | Creamy with a little sweet honey and gentle spice. |
| Overall | My first try of the Teeling range and I'm really impressed with the mouthfeel on all of these - a lovely thick and creamy liquid in al 3 of them. The Single Grain doesn't have any of the harshness you'd associate with more common grain whiskies - it's elegant and very morish. I'm assuming it's quite young but you couldn't tell. a lovely balance of sweetness and spice. The Small Batch was probably the weakest of the three - not as bold as the other Irish Rum cask finishes I've tried but a nice enough dram. The Single Malt is quite a complex dram for it's young age (3 years old I think) up there with Cotswold and Wolfburn in turning out nice young drams. The vatting of multiple casks is interesting but I'd like to try one straight out of a 'standard' bourbon cask. For me you can't go wrong with any of these - continuing a legacy from their past but a bottle of the Single Grain and Single Malt are worth space on anyone's whisk(e)y shelf. | ||
These samples were provided by @MaverickDrinks but the opinions stated above are my own.
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