Teeling Brabazon Bottling Series 01

I confess, I tried this one before, a little over two years ago. At a Teeling tasting in my neck of the woods. I remember it vividly as I posted a photos of this bottle on social media, while it was some sort of preview. Could I pretty please remove the photo asap? Oh, okay… In the meantime, the second release is already on the market, which I quite liked. But I’ll gladly return to this first batch from 2017. No less than 12.500 bottles were launched, all filled from sherry casks.

Although I first get a whiff of burnt rubber on the nose, this evaporates quickly to be replaced by all kinds of dark and sweet notes. Think plums, raisins, dates and some dark chocolate. There is a surprising note of broth in there. Somewhat umami, in fact. A bit eccentric.

On the palate, it proves to be creamy, dark and sweet with a metallic twist. Banana, bitter oranges, plums and even some pineapple on the barbecue, joined by a spiciness that steers towards cloves and cinnamon. Hint of espresso and some… err… chewing gum with blackberry flavor? Eccentric indeed.

The finish is medium long, soft and sweet.

I preferred the second batch, but this one is clearly more fun. Unfortunately also pretty expensive with it’s price tag of around 80 EUR.