Teeling Single Malt

The sons of John Teeling (who put the Cooley distillery on the map and recently sold it to Beam) stepped into their father’s footsteps and recently opened a new distillery in Dublin. The Teeling whiskey that currently appears on the market is old Cooley stocks (or even Bushmills). This is one of those: the Teeling single malt. It is said that this whiskey contains different vintages up to 23 years old. It matured on a range of different casks: port, sherry, Madeira and white wine from France.

It is soft, syrupy and immensely fruity on the nose. Sweet apples, melon, fresh figs, overripe cherries and some citrus. Just a tad of oak that translates into vanilla and cloves. Becomes sweeter as you leave it to breath. Be careful when adding water though, for that suppresses the fruitiness somewhat and brings more wood to the fore.

It is succulent and sweet, but very spicy up front. Think cloves, white pepper, ginger and some liquorice. The fruit is still very present, but now more like the dried variety. Think peach and apples, but also melon and figs. Somewhat zesty which makes it a bit prickling. Very good. Diluted it loses some sweetness, but never becomes too dry.

The finish is not overly long, but certainly long enough. It remains spicy and becomes a bit dry at the very end.

Great as an aperitif, but also matches well with a sweet dessert like pastry with fruit. Good strength, but can take water.