Teeling Small Batch

The Teeling Whiskey Company is a new brand of Irish whiskey, started quite recently by Jack Teeling. (who once owned the Cooley distillery, and are now building a new distillery in Dublin). The family has been making whiskey since 1782, and started the Cooley Distillery in 1987. They sold the distillery to Beam in 2011. Their three expressions are a Vintage Reserve Single Malt, a Poitin and this four year old small batch blended whiskey.

This blend has a high malt content, is non-chill-filtered and is finished in ex-Flor de Cana Rum barrels. Although no information on where the spirit was distilled is given, I have to assume it comes from Cooley. This one was bottled in September 2013. I bought this bottle in Whitehorse (it is currently not available in Ontario), and I think it is also available in BC and Alberta.

The colour is a light-to-medium gold. On the nose, very light honey, and also quite grassy. Lemon pastry. Salt-and-pepper. Quite light and citrusy, with some sweetness (like simple syrup) but also a little rough around the edges - slightly medicinal. Water simply dilutes both the nose and palate.

On the palate, quite sweet but in a very bland way - again, think simple syrup. Almost sticky. A rough spiciness combined with lemonade and very light honey. Cloying and not to my taste.

The finish is a little too chalky, with some oak coming through, and also quite short. Given this is the first Teeling whiskey I've tried to date, it is a letdown. At only four years old, it definitely feels too young and clumsy. I've heard great things about their Vintage Reserve Single Malt, but this is not a great introduction to this new brand. Time will tell what other offerings await us.