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Teeling Single Grain

Average score from 8 reviews and 10 ratings 85

Teeling Single Grain

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@markjedi1
Teeling Single Grain

Besides single malt, Teeling also has brought this Single Grain to the market (in August 2015), which was finished on wine casks. I expect a lot of sweetness The nose bursts with vanilla, but also shows quite some honey, raspberries and candy. Think of the smell that meets you when you enter a shop where you can fill up your own little plastic back with candy. Thanks to a hint of leather, warm spices and some banana it remains nicely balanced.

It has a good body and is quite creamy. A full taste of vanilla custard with some mint, caramel, apricots and a hint of coconut. Pleasant and warming. Pepper and some ginger. Hint of nuts. The candy like quality is a lot less on the palate, which I find an advantage. It does remain very sweet though.

The medium long finish offers some more nuts, pepper and dried apricots. It is quite dry though.

Nice grain without being grand. Reminds me a bit of Greenore (which is plausible, as that is old Cooley stuff as well).

@GentlemanGrimm

Colour:

Burnished gold.

Nose:

Herbal, slight note wine, orange peel, sweet - toffee, vanilla and brown sugar.

Palate:

Sweet fruity notes - red grapes, toffee, leading to slight spice, nutmeg and butterscotch.

Finish:

Fruity, creamy and sweet but gives way to more bitter notes over time.

Overall:

Setting the bar high for all Single Grains I try from now on. Great range on the nose and palate. The herbal notes threw me a little but after that I felt like I was drinking a Dalmore with all the toffee, vanilla and brown sugar on the nose. Actually I enjoyed this more than their Single Malt which as it's around £5 cheaper a bottle that's nice to know!

@Ol_Jas I know the Small Batch was finished in rum casks but not sure about this one. Certainly had some flavours reminiscent of a rum finish though.

The "grapes" sounds like the American Cabernet Sauvignon Finish. If so, yes, this is great whiskey, and by far my favourite of the Teelings I have tried thus far. All Irish and Scotch "grain whisk(e)y" should be this good.

@MuddyFunster

Third and final part of my trinity pack of 5cl Teeling bottles. Rumoured to be aged for 5 years with a mash bill said to be 95% corn, 5% barley.

Colour is clear golden, oily in the glass.

Nose is a surprise and a delight. Fruity, grape, lemon, toffee, lots of vanilla, buttery, baked apple pie crust, pepper and spice, but with some crisp clear lines and vinous notes. It's mainly creamy vanilla, berry fruit and toffee.

Taste is creamy, vanilla, creme caramel, hints of lemon rind, grape, lots of vanilla oak wood.

This is really really nice.

Mouthfeel is slight oiliness and dry.

Finish is lots of vanilla oak, little dry, light spice, light pepper, creme caramel, custard, toffee, slight lemon.

Second time I've been really surprised by a single grain, the last being Nikka Coffey Grain.

When I tried the Teeling Single Malt I was pondering buying a bottle, but no pondering with this one. Will pick up a bottle tomorrow. A fascinating counterpoint to my bourbon whiskies, this Irish corn whisky.

So I bought a bottle. Nose isn't quite as great as the sample, maybe needs to breathe, little more corn in the nose, but still love this, particularly on the taste.

@MuddyFunster, I want to sample Teeling Single Grain without a finish. What I've had with Cabernet Sauvignon finish has been wonderful, but I don't have a sense as to what it would taste like naked.

@Pierre_W

The original Teeling distillery was established by Walter Teeling in 1782 in Dublin. It eventually closed as a result of the decline in Irish whiskey sales. In 1985, John Teeling bought a state-owned industrial potato distillery on the Cooley peninsula. He added a column still and in 1987 launched the Cooley Whisky Distillery and set about re-launching forgotten Irish whiskey brands such as The Tyrconnell. When the Cooley distillery was sold to Beam in 2012, John’s sons Jack and Stephen negotiated with Beam to sell them 16,000 casks of aged Cooley whiskey. With these stocks they set up the new Teeling Distillery in Dublin, where the first run of whiskey flowed in March 2015. Teeling Single Grain is fully matured in Californian Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels.

The nose is rich and lush and one is immediately engulfed by flavours of honey, apples and vanilla. There is a floral note that distinctly hovers in the background, together with a touch of anise.

The palate is medium-bodied, buttery and just a bit spicy. The vanilla flavours are back, now accompanied by notes of caramel and cinnamon. The wood spice influence is now very distinct, giving the palate extra punch.

The finish is of medium length and dry. Vanilla and caramel flavours last to the very end, together with a good dose of wood spice.

Irish single grain whiskeys are still rare and this is a very nice example of what could be in store for all of us if more bottlings were made available. Overall, I found this a rather enticing and well balanced whiskey that provides the extra kick that a lot of other single grain whiskies lack.

@Victor

Teeling Single Grain Whiskey is 5 yo, and has been finished in American Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Casks. The reviewed bottle has bottle code L14 010 305, and has been open for 13 days

Nose: a beautiful array of medium and high-pitched flavours present immediately. The quality of the wine flavours is very high. Grain flavours are present and agreeable, but muted

Taste: the nose translates well to the palate, with honey flavours added to the mix. There is a very good balance among the wine, grain, and honey flavours, and a lot of complexity among the wine flavours

Finish: medium length; keeps all the major flavours and very good balance

Balance: I am a big fan of this bottle. Hopefully other batches of Teeling Single Grain Whiskey are equally delicious. At a recent tasting attended by eight persons, this Teeling Single Grain Whiskey was universally liked and among the top favourites of the group

Water added: 1) very much sharpened the wine influence in the nose, 2) diluted and dulled the flavours on the palate, while binding together the wine flavours, and 3) muffled the flavours on the finish. I prefer this without water

@jack09, "grain" in Ireland means anything but malted barley. In practice this usually means corn, or corn and wheat. If you combine barley-malt whiskey with whiskeys from other grains you get an Irish blended whiskey, and not a "single (distillery) grain whiskey". "Single Pot Still" Irish whiskey is yet another distinct type which combines malted and unmalted barley together.

In days past oats may have been used in blended whiskeys, and to the best of my knowledge the laws would also allow unmalted barley to be used in "grain" whiskey.

Irish and Scottish distilleries seldom give detailed information about which grain(s) are used, and the percentages of each, though they absolutely should. Even with high proof distillations diluted down to 40% ABV there is a lot of difference between the taste of corn and wheat.

Thanks Victor! You mirror my experience,almost exactly. With a couple of drops of distilled water in 50ml. I get the most wonderful Treacle Toffee on the nose and palate; it's more pronounced (for me)with this small addition - I tried it neat and it was fine then I took the smallest sip of distilled water and a sip of Whisky and married them in my mouth and 'Bingo'!

Cheers!

@talexander

It's March 17 at 11:25pm and I'm pretty much ready for bed. But being St. Patrick's Day, I cannot slumber until I write up an Irish whiskey - and a new one at that!

Well, at least new to Ontario. New Irish whiskey upstart The Teeling Whiskey Company (ok, not that much of an upstart since the Teeling family has been making whiskey since 1782) have bottled a single grain. This has been fully matured in Californian wine barrels, non-chill-filtered and bottled about a year ago, in March 2014. This is a newly opened bottle for this review.

The colour is a fairly light amber-gold. The nose is both sweet and a little rough: tropical and stone fruits mingle together (peach, mango, pineapple, papaya) overtop industrial alcohol, linseed oil and menthol. Strange bedfellows. Quite herbal. Light butterscotch, with some wine tannins in the far background. Don't add water; it just dilutes everything. Interesting and complex but not altogether successful.

On the palate the combination is similar: tropical fruits with custard, light vanilla and caramel fight for dominance over rough alcohol. A little more gentle than the nose, however. Forget what I said earlier; water improves the palate (though not the nose), smoothing out the rough edges. At the end, the sweetness wins out - becoming a more pleasant dram. Needs more time in oak, methinks, but still enjoyable.

The finish is long but rough, with more peach and apricot, while drying to tobacco ash and coconut. Interestingly, water closes the nose while opening up the palate, turning it into a simple but more-than-drinkable dram. I prefer it to the Greenore 8 Year Old, which may be a fairly close comparison, but I'm not sure I would buy it again. A little rough around the edges, perhaps it needs some time to oxidize in the bottle (I guess we shall see...) Winner of World's Best Single Grain at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards (beating out Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky from South Africa, which I prefer.) Worth a try, you may enjoy it more than I.

Thanks for the excellent review. My recently opened bottle may be from a diifferent batch as it shows a little differently from yours and the colour is red(ish)/copper. The batch No. is 10/14 and, for me, is rather smooth (?) I don't mean this as a critiicism of your fine review and my bottle is just opened. I curious, that's all.

I beg your pardon. I have reread your review without skipping and your bottle is indeed from a prior batch.

Sorry about that!

Slainte!

@MaltActivist

I don't know a hell of a lot of about Teeling Irish Whiskey. Actually I don't know a hell of a lot about Irish Whiskey either. And I sure as hell do not know much about grain whiskey let alone single grain whiskey.

So I was very intrigued when I found out that an Irish Single Grain had been making quite a bit of noise of late by winning the World Whisky Awards Best Grain Whiskey.

What's interesting is that most grain whiskies are blended but this one is a single grain - meaning it's from the same distillery. What is even more interesting is that it's spent pretty much all it's life in Californian Cabernet Sauvignon casks (which would explain the reddish hue when you hold it up to the light).

Teeling refuse to tell me how old it is and, frankly, I don't think you need to care. And what I really like is the $65USD price tag on this whiskey which is a pleasant contrast to exorbitant NAS expressions of late. And for that I will give it an extra point (not that it needs it!).

Nose: This one makes you wait. Almost teasing you because you can feel there's something special hidden down there but it's not ready to present itself yet. Twenty minutes later it's resolve weakens and it starts to open up. Very sweet vanilla and black pepper with hints of fresh coconut shavings. Followed by butterscotch on brown cereal and finely chopped almonds. Wait a bit longer for red grapes, apples and creme brulee with a hint of cigar leaf. The aromas are delicately layered on top of one another in near perfect harmony.

Palate: One of the great deliveries of late. Unlike the nose the spirit pounces on your palate in a dizzying tumble of flavors. First the apples and walnuts layered in expertly between soft slices of banana bread drizzled with a winey nectar. Almost sherry like. The grapes are back (both red and green) accompanied by a strong dark cinnamon & licorice dusted with cocoa powder.

Finish: Restrained at first but boisterous after a bit. Pinging the mouth with chocolate and mocha prickles.

This expression has such an exotic flavor I'm not sure how to describe it. It takes you totally by surprise. What ever these guys are doing with those Californian Cabernet Sauvignon casks they're on to something.

Very interesting. I've thought for 4 years that wine cask aging would work very well with pure corn whiskey, because corn, like barley, is a good passive vessel for accepting other, bigger, flavours. I'd love to see it in Cask Strength. My own product would be named "Corn'bunadh".

I agree very much - hugely enjoyable whiskey at an affordable price.

I'm a big fan of wine cask-matured whiskey, but this is something different indeed - the wine influence is much more subtle than usual, and it works like a charm. Lovely stuff.

@tjb

This review is from a small 5cl bottling as part of a tasting set. I normally don't blog or write reviews on small bottles but there isn't much on here on so I though I would start it going.

The Teeling Whiskey Co. mission is to challenge the norm by creating alternative Irish whiskeys with greater depth of personality and character than the current mass-market options.

Double distilled from maize and full matured in Californian Cabarnet Sauvignon casks.

Nose: warm and soft. butter, vanilla and ripe fruits. Spicy wafts.

Palate: Spices, warmly soft, creamy, buttery, caramel fudge.

Finish: medium long with creamy spicy tang.

A friend told me this would be an ideal bottle to introduce someone to grain Whisky and I must agree.

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