Teeling Aquavit Cask

A Teeling blend from the Small Batch Collaboration finished on Aquavit casks of the Norwegian Oslo Handverksdestilleri (founded in 2015)... what the hell am I supposed to imagine? By the way, Oslo Handverksdestilleri might as well have called itself MMM, because the founding fathers are called Martin, Marcin and Marius. Fortunately, they didn't... You can see why (I think). Also fortunately, I can always rely on Benny – Mr Teeling Belgium, so to speak – to help me get a sample.

On the nose, this immediately reminds me of the schnapps that I sometimes dare to put on the lips in Austria during my ski holiday. Hint of tropical fruits like pineapple and kiwi with some sweet grain and kirschwasser. Not bad (much better than the Amber Ale I just tasted, for example), but I'm not really devastated.

Ouch, on the palate it goes wrong. Very light body that reminds me of aquavit rather than whiskey (it should be the other way around) and rather alcoholic. Hint of orange and pineapple, but especially neutral grain alcohol. No, this is not for me.

Fortunately, the finish is relatively short. But again, I really don't feel like I'm tasting a whiskey.

Definitely not my thing. I understand the urge to innovate and experiment, but some experiments should not be bottled, it seems to me.