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.
Kavalan Concertmaster
The name “Kavalan” refers to a Taiwanese ethnic group and means “people of the flatland.” This distillery is only ten years old, but made up for it hiring Ian Chang as master blender and Dr. James Swan to consult. Swan is also responsible for starting Penderyn, which we featured at 2014’s World Whisky Day, among other things. The Concertmaster is their second single malt release and their offerings have been garnering attention since 2010. By 2014, they’d amassed 100 gold medals from spirit competitions, including Best Whisky in the World at the 2015 World Whisky Awards (The Solist). We like the somewhat musical bent the names are taking. Is Kavalan Xylophone next?
GlenDronach 15 Year Revival
GlenDronach is known for crafting single malts that are richly sherried. Though the 14 Year Sauternes Cask we reviewed early last year is no longer offered, several others have been introduced (or reintroduced) to take it’s place. The GlenDronach 15 in particular has received a lot of positive attention, having been an excellent single malt from years ago recently brought back. Since we’d gone through a number of Sauternes finished whiskies, we decided to sample the sherry finish to compare.