Origin: Dublin (Ireland)
Type: Single Grain Irish Whiskey
Strength: 50%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Bourdeaux
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Teeling Whiskey Company
Average price: € 125.00
Official website: teelingwhiskey.com
Vote: 87/100
In its ongoing research and experimentation with casks, the Dublin-based distillery has accustomed us to decidedly unusual combinations.
So it’s no surprise that this September 2021 bottling features not only a single grain with significant ageing, but also a red wine maturation that’s not exactly common.
The second single grain in their portfolio, to which others will be added, spent nine years in the classic ex-Bourbon casks and then added four years (not exactly a little) in ex-Bordeaux wine casks, all from a distillate made from 95% corn and 5% malted barley.
The premises are very interesting.
Tasting Notes
The nose is intense and spicy, with a clear vinous influence of grape must, red fruits, baked apple, plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg, cereals and a slight vein of heather. Very compact, it brings out rough notes of leather alongside sesame seeds and citrus. Inviting.
It’s again the wine embraced by cereals that connotes the senses on the palate, with an effluvia of red fruits (blueberries, raspberries), sultanas, spices and honey, with a lascivious creaminess punctuated by liquorice, chocolate and hazelnuts. On the finish it becomes rough with bitter notes of rhubarb, almonds and a hint of thyme.
The finish is quite long and dry, with spices, red fruits, aromatic herbs, almond, cereals and wood.
Balanced and harmonious, an excellent marriage between the grain and the wine that manages to find an uncommon point of synthesis between two such marked aspects. Rich and spicy to the right point, with tannins that dry out the mouth and encourage drinking. Excellent.