Teeling’s grain whisky comes from the Great Northern Distillery, owned by John Teeling (Thanks, Phil). It was mentioned in the tasting that John owns shares in the Teeling distillery as well. The grain whisky are aged in ex-Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from California; these casks aren’t re-toasted or re-charred. On a side note, it was nice of them to say that they receive the wine casks with still 6L of wine in it. Ex-wine casks often have some wine left in them during transit to prevent the cask from going bad.

Nose: A definite step up from the single grain. It’s fruity, bright, light and with a hint of sauternes. Apple juice, pineapple, apricots and raisins. Really good. The Irish will tell you they invented whiskey-making, and it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that Irish monks brought distilling techniques across the waters to Scotland. Yet that short distance has been far enough that the two whiskeys evolved, over the centuries, into very different styles.Taste: Yep, this is fruity. Definitely some of that older Irish whiskey DNA in there. Nectarines and apricots, but also a pinch of honey and vanilla. The mouthfeel is pretty creamy. Good stuff. Taste: Quite a few spices (cloves, nutmeg, pepper) and slightly drying with a hint of cough syrup, but also oranges and whiffs of mint. The most recent one was with Teeling, hosted by Robert Caldwell. We had to buy a sample set consisting of 30ml sample bottles of the Teeling Small Batch, Single Grain, Single Malt and Single Pot Still to join the event. This needs some time to open up. At the time of the virtual tasting, the flavors were quite muddled. The heat getting in the way didn’t help, either. Even after opening up, the flavors were still incoherent. As expected of Central American rum, which are mainly column distilled and made in efficient ways, it doesn’t lend many flavors. This is a forgettable and inoffensive whisky that beginners will enjoy. Score: 4/10 Nose: Hints of apple peel and pear skin, a tinge of lemon zest and galia melon, and also milk chocolate and a whiff of brown sugar.

In the mouth: Very different from the nose. The grainy texture is not as evident, but notes in this are more expressive. From the get go, I get medium and lasting tastes of Taiwanese pineapple cakes, coconut cream, honey and toffee. A light taste of blended sweet corn with cream comes and goes. Conclusions: The second thing we tasted was the Teeling Single Grain. Its mash bill is 95% corn and 5% malted barley. If you’re not aware, mash bills for grain whisky, bourbon and rye traditionally have a small amount of malted barley to start fermentation.

the phoenix cafÉ

Nose: A hint of glue to start but nothing too bad. The nose is fairly narrow but plenty of fudge and caramel. Also a touch wood shavings, with finally just a tinge of fresh strawberries, marshmallows and Maraschino cherries. I’ve read that the ABV of washes meant to be distilled for whisky affects the heat and flavors the whisky expresses. Flavorful Springbank’s wash ends at 6%. Teeling Single Malt ends at 10%. This ABV is said to be similar to high-output, modern Scotch single malt distilleries like Glenlivet. The resulting distillate is said to be hotter than most, leading me to wonder if a lower wash would result in a more cohesive blending of flavors during aging. Score: 5/10 Conclusions: This is best among the lineup. While it isn’t as complex as the Teeling single malt, the flavors it gives off are fuller. It’s mostly fruity, which I think is the result and target of the triple distillation. (Consumers might think that triple distillation is meant to make a spirit smooth, but it’s more for concentrating targeted flavors). Both Irish whiskey and Scotch whisky are grain-based spirits. Many modern Irish whiskeys are lighter or more accessible in style than their Scottish counterparts, thanks to the differences that have developed in distilling techniques. We loved this tour and tasting so much it is the only activity we repeated on a trip with our adult children other than the Book of Kells. This time we had the pleasure of having Marc as our tour guide. He was equally as entertaining and informative as Jaime 1mwas last March. Highly recommend!! Jenna W

Taste: Creamy and fairly fruity (pineapple and apricots again), but certainly also that cough syrup-y note the single grain also displayed. Plenty spicy too with touches of ginger, but mostly balanced out by sweeter caramel notes and brown sugar.

|Brian was a spectacular (and handsome) guide! He taught me so much about whiskey, would recommend to anyone. CharHall

First in the tasting was the Small Batch. It’s said to be aged in ex-bourbon casks for up to 6 years, and then spends an additional 9 to 12 months in Central American rum casks. A blended whisky, it is three parts grain whisky and one single malt. Teeling Small Batch Chris turned out to be a perfect tour guide and he shared plenty of details about the whiskey we tasted. While a virtual tour isn’t a perfect substitute for the real deal, it will certainly do for as long as we deal with this pesky virus. Hopefully I can make my way over to Dublin once it is safe to do so again. Then I’ll be sure to visit and do a proper write-up. For now, you’ll have to make do with some tasting notes. The Teelings, having ran Cooley before Beam-Suntory bought it, obviously know the Irish whiskey category very well and so it’s no surprise they know what it takes to compete for shelf space these days. It’s not delivering yet another “same old” whiskey, it’s delivering something that stands apart and gives the consumer a real choice to make when staring at the shelves on the whiskey aisle and for that I thank them. Seriously, thank you Teelings for the Teeling Small Batch Irish; thank you for not releasing yet another chill-filtered 80 proof Irish blend into the market and giving us something new and different to explore! Teeling Small Batch Irish Info Despite being the best among the four, I wouldn’t recommend this for beginners. The initial flavors might be seen as too bold, while the more subtle ones are hard to notice and coax out. It is shyer compared to the rest, but letting it breathe is rewarding. Score: 6/10 In the mouth: Just like on the nose, this is a wild and incoherent mix of fruit notes arising from various ex-wine cask influences. There are light tastes of red bananas, gooseberries, mocha, chocolate raisins, ripe plums, bergamot, basil, flower petals, apples, Tinta Negra Madeira, cascara tea and chamomile tea. A light flash of sulfur comes and goes. Conclusions:

Third in the line-up is Teeling’s Single Malt. Two types of yeast are used here. One is a white wine yeast from South Africa, and the other is a distiller’s yeast. The fermentation results in a 10% ABV wash. The whisky are aged separately for 9 to 23 years in ex-cabernet sauvignon, ex-Madeira, ex-white Burgundy, ex-port or ex-sherry casks. They are blended afterwards, which really varies batches. (I’m pretty sure the distillates for the single malt are still from Cooley, as the Teeling distillery was only established in 2015.) Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. The Teeling Small Batch Irish may not be something I want to drink everyday, but it’s definitely something I’ll be reaching for now and then to break up my usual flavor patterns. Especially if you spend a lot of time drinking heavy cask strength behemoths it’s good to change things up a bit. Take some time and explore lighter, more nuanced whiskeys from time to time to remind your palate and olfactory what subtlety means. These differences are not carved in stone; the Irish Whiskey Act of 1980 outlines only the broad parameters necessary to label a product “Irish” whiskey. Basically, it requires that whiskey be composed of grains (such as barley, wheat, corn, and rye), be distilled to no more than 94.8 percent alcohol, and be aged at least three years in wooden barrels. These guidelines leave producers a lot of leeway to define their styles. Irish whiskey producers generally use a mix of malted and unmalted barley for their mash bill – unlike the Scots, who use all malted barley – and these unmalted grains may enhance earthy, oily notes in the spirit. They generally dry the grains with ovens, instead of the Scots’ traditional peat fires, so with some exceptions Irish whiskeys don’t have the smoky aromas that characterize many scotch whiskies. Finally, Irish whiskeys are typically distilled three times, which is one more go-around than is usual for most scotch whiskies.