Featured at World Whisky Day 2016: The Teeling name has a long history in the world of Irish whiskey, beginning in 1782 on Marrowbone Lane in Dublin. Teeling has been part of the Irish whiskey resurgence, as they opened a distillery in 2015 in Dublin, the first seen in that city since 1976. While their whiskey is currently sourced from the Cooley distillery, the plan is to use their own stock once it is ready. The Teeling Small Batch bottling is their flagship expression and was finished in ex-rum barrels, something not often seen in Irish whiskies. They also have a single grain and several single malt offerings.
Distillery: Teeling
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 46%
Price: $27.59
Maturation: Rum casks
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Nose: Sweet, palm sugar syrup, melon
Palate: Honey, rum cake, butterscotch
Finish: Rum, tart
Comments:
Adam – I am pleasantly surprised by this one. Rum can be a hard finish to work right (just ask Balvenie), especially on a lighter, sweeter Irish whiskey. I am really struck by how cohesive this dram is, with all the flavors feeling balanced. The rum adds a nice shot of flavor and spice that infuses the whiskey with some needed complexity. It makes a good summer dram. And the price! If this is their base model, I’m hopeful for their future development.
Jenny – Light on flavor. Vapors came up through my nose but it feels warm going down. If you let the Teeling Small Batch linger in your mouth a bit, there is a light butterscotch flavor. It’s light. It’s okay. Not something I’d need to have in my collection, though.
Exactly what you would expect from an Irish whiskey finished in a rum barrel.
Meghan – This one runs the middle of the gauntlet for me. It doesn’t rock my world either for good or bad. There is a lot of rum flavor to it which is interesting. We have not come across a lot of rum casks so when we do, it is nice to see the barrel shine through. That being said, rum is not on the top of my list of favorite spirits. I don’t hate it but if I never had it again I would not miss it. Often, it is just too sweet for me without enough depth. The Teeling Small Batch has some of those same aspects- varying flavors of sweet and that is about it. It is very smooth and silky (a third distillation will often do that) but the flavor is sticky. It leaves almost a sticky residue in my mouth, like having eaten a molasses chew or countless butterscotch discs. I can see the merits others would find in this whiskey but it just is not my cup of tea.
Michael – Exactly what you would expect from an Irish whiskey finished in a rum barrel. There are few surprises given that knowledge. The rum cask is apparent and it is a lighter, mild, Irish whiskey. A good value for the money. I enjoy it.
