Teeling Single Pot Still Wonders of Wood – Brandy PX Chestnut Cask

Wonders of Wood is a series of Teeling whiskeys that have matured in a very special type of cask. After the Amburana Cask and the Cherry Wood Cask, they launched this third 'wood miracle' in 2021, namely the Teeling Pot Still matured on a... uh... Brandy PX Chestnut Cask. What the hell is that? Anyway, the whiskey is a Pot Still produced from 50% malted and 50% unmalted barley. Only 600 bottles of these were exclusively available at the distillery. Of course my companion Benny – the biggest Teeling fanatic in our small country – could get a bottle and he was so generous to give me a sample of it.

Although I have the impression that this is very young stuff, I still get nice notes of apples, chestnuts, hay and the juice of a green branch. A fresh pack of paper and something that reminds me of stamp glue, really. As with that earlier Brandy Cask (which I tasted yesterday, the barrel for The Nectar) I am charmed again, but anything but upside down.

Because of the towering ABV, it comes in firmly and spicy. A lot of wood herbs, which causes my salivary glands to go into overdrive. Pooh! Then apples, banana and a lot of grapefruit with a nice bitterness. Walnuts. Again chestnuts. Grapes. But it all remains relatively sharp, I think.

The finish is medium and sweet and sour, but does make me reach for a glass of water (which I don't see as a good sign).

Beautiful, but a bit too spicy to my liking. Thanks, Benny.