Before saying anything else about Teeling, I want to congratulate them for having the 24-year-old single malt voted the World’s best single malt! I haven’t tasted this particular single malt, but I’ve really enjoyed the other single malts that I’ve tasted from them.
Since I came across my first Redbreast, I’ve always loved single pot still whiskeys. I’m thrilled to see new distilleries produce single pot still whiskey, because it is something unique to Ireland and I think it’s a shame that only one distillery has been producing them for so many years, until Dingle released their first.
If you want an update about what a single pot still whiskey is and some of the history around it, you can read my post about the Dingle single pot still.
I was of course very enthusiastic about the fact that Teeling’s first Dublin produced release was a single pot still. As everyone else has also stated, it was such a victory to see pot still whiskey production back in Dublin. I tasted the batch 1 when I visited the distillery in November last year.
I found the batch 1 quite poitìn-ey, which isn’t a great surprise for a 3-year-old whiskey, but I wondered why this one still had so much poitìn character that other 3-year-old whiskeys don’t.
However, I have been looking forward to seeing what more time in the cask would do to it, and when I read another blogger’s review of batch 2, it sounded like something I wanted to taste. From what I can find online, batch 2 has spent four months more in the cask than batch 1. Interesting that only four months can make such a difference!
The Teeling single pot still is triple distilled, bottled at 46% ABV, and made with 50% malted barley, and 50% unmalted spring barley. It’s matured in ex-bourbon, ex-wine, and in virgin oak casks. It’s an interesting combo, and I like it! I’m quite fond of virgin oak that, when used correctly, gives a nice woody character to the whiskey. Some people don’t like it at all, but I love it.
Nose
Orange peel or perhaps grapefruit. The citrus aroma is quite intense. There’s also something minty, and darker fruits as well as a spicy sweetness and something woody.
Palate
It has a nice soft mouthfeel. It has spice and sweetness, like from some dark sugar. I get white pepper with a long spicy finish.
When I add a drop of water, the aromas intensify and get more.. homogenous? On the palate it seems sweeter and with more body. It has a nice long finish as before. I really like this whiskey and I’m impressed with how much it has developed in this short time. The Teeling single pot still has lots of potential – and is already a very nice whiskey.
