Teeling - Revival Volume II - Review

Well over a year ago Irish whiskey lovers were treated to something special from the Teeling Whiskey Company as they released their first ever "Revival" bottling. 

This first release was a 15 year old single malt, matured exclusively in rum casks, and was introduced to mark the opening of the new Teeling Whiskey Distillery in Dublin city centre.

Moving on to the end of last year and we witnessed as Teeling released "The Revival - Volume II" to mark the one year anniversary of the Teeling Whiskey Distillery.

This "Second Coming" is a 13 year old single malt that was distilled in 2002 before being initially matured for about 12 years in ex-bourbon casks.  It was then finished for a further 12 months in an ex-Calvados, French apple brandy, cask.

It has then been bottled at 46% ABV and without chill filtration.

Onto my notes:

Nose - Orange, lemon, cut grass, honeyed lemon with lovely wafts of sweet malt barley.  Clean and distinct.  A little tropical banana with a nod towards banana ice cream.  Orange marmalade, dried orange, candied lemon peel.  Not a lot of spice going on here which allows it to come across as a fruit explosion.  Green and red apple which come across both as fresh and stewed.  Beautiful mix of sweet fruit salad.

Palate - Rich malt with a seriously rich citrus undertone.  Sweet orange and lemon combine with a little spice which arrives with the feeling that it's more from the casks than the spirit.  Apart from that the oak influence is restrained with the flavours from the Calvados having a lot more of a say.  Ripe red apples and a little more of the green, cut grass note from the nose.  The sweetness is almost overpowering on the palate but the savoury green element, along with a minor amount of spice, just about hold it all together.

Finish - Long and juicy with a little hint of dry wood spice.  This then disappears into a heady blast of ripe red apples.

Overall I have to say, I prefer this much more to the first release.  This is one fruit beast of a whiskey.

A full fruit salad is on display with top notch sweet malt.  Cask influence is restrained but having just enough of a say to bind everything together with a little cream from the oak.

This is a seriously good Irish whiskey and has classic notes which are now found regularly throughout the Teeling range.

Think I may have to splash the cash on a bottle of this, very impressive.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Teeling Single Cask - Cask 926 - Madeira Finish - Review

As Irish Whiskey continues to grow it is obvious to many that The Teeling Whiskey Company are right at the forefront of it's growth.  Since their formation, in 2012, they have set a high standard with excellent general releases and the opening, in 2015, of their brand new distillery and visitors centre.

As mentioned, the general releases coming from The Teeling Whiskey Company are of a very good standard and this has allowed them to build a solid reputation, but if you want to delve deeper into the treasure trove of whiskeys they have in their possession then you should look a little further.

A more detailed internet search will reveal a wealth of other bottlings that should rouse the interest of any whiskey lover.  The main bulk of these bottlings are single malt, single casks that have been finished in a range of interesting woods and it is one of these type of bottlings that I wish to talk about.

Back in July 2015 the Celtic Whiskey Club sent it's members out a sample of such a bottling.  This was a sample of a Teeling Single Cask that had been finished in a Madeira barrel.  Initially distilled in 2002, at "an undisclosed distillery in the North of Ireland", the spirit was matured in a refill Bourbon barrel before being finished in a Madeira barrel for a period of a year.

The cask was number 926 which yielded 315 bottles at a natural cask strength of 55.9% ABV.  These were obviously bottled without chill-filtration and without the addition of any colouring.

Onto my notes:

Nose - Sweet with the malt and Madeira.  Distinctly "North of Ireland" and much like the Bushmills 10 year old.  Slight grassy note and quite green with green apple and unripe banana.  Wood influence is slightly understated.  Feels like the Bourbon barrel was quite tired and the Madeira barrel has had more of a say with some sweet, dried fruit and a little damp, dusty note.  Subtle clove and black pepper.  We now get more of the Madeira notes with some orange oil and over ripe red apple.  The spirit still has a nice vibrancy and the balance isn't too bad.  With time a little creamy vanilla comes through and binds the flavours together.  With water the experience instantly becomes more like Christmas cake with touches of cinnamon.  The madeira influence is coming into it's own and works well with the malt.

Palate - Sour, bitter arrival.  Moves towards the sweet momentarily before jolting into pepper and clove.  As the heat eases we drift back to sweet red apple and orange but the spice continues to linger in the background.  With water the sour arrival is balanced out towards the sweet fruits.  Emphasis is on red apple, red currant and old wood.  The spices still try to have their say but are much more subdued.  The light vanilla also makes an appearance on the palate and again brings it all together.

Finish - Decent length with more red apple and dry spice.  Fruity to the end and becoming fresher, with water, as the spice seems to die first giving the dram a moreish feel.

Overall this is a good, decent dram.  Classic young Bushmills with a nice Madeira touch, almost like a younger brother to the Bushmills 21 year old.  When poured neat, the spirit is a little on the feisty side.  It definitely takes a little water to calm it down and bring the flavours together, but it's very worthwhile to get a new Bushmills experience.

This sample was of particular interest to me as I have a very similar bottle in the house, except my bottle comes from cask number 935 and was bottled at 55.5% ABV, and the whole time I was sipping at this sample I couldn't help but think that cask 926 just wasn't quite as good as cask 935. 

This, however, only backs up what I have said before in that this is what makes single cask bottlings so interesting.  Never will you get two casks the same and this will lead to each cask delivering a different experience into each bottle that comes from that cask.  For me, this alone is reason enough to seek these bottles out.  What I find excellent, others may find slightly disappointing or vice versa, but this only adds to the enjoyment of whiskey.

Lastly I would like to make one other point.  While I have been mentioning Bushmills, quite a lot through this "Teeling" review, I would like to heap praise upon The Teeling Whiskey Company. 

Everyone should be obviously aware that Teeling are a new distillery, and naturally can't have their own spirit at this age, so therefore they have to have stock from other distilleries in order to get their name out there.  But what they also have is the skill and expertise in order to make sure that the liquid in a "Teeling" bottle lives up to the reputation they are aiming for.

As we have seen, a little too often, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to obtain stock from elsewhere and throw it into a hastily released product.  But what we have also seen is that this only leads to poor quality products which reflect badly on an industry that is trying so very hard to make a strong name for itself.

What Teeling are doing, however, is ensuring that, through excellent cask management and innovative ideas, they are strengthening the name of Irish whiskey and one can almost be certain that this will continue long past the time when their own spirit will be ready for bottling.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

"Fill Your Own" Teeling Whiskey

Towards the end of April I was lucky enough to get the chance to have a behind the scenes tour of the new Teeling Whiskey Distillery. 

Whilst on this tour, which I previously reviewed, I sampled two whiskeys that were due to be launched in the distillery shop and this morning I learnt that both are now available to buy.

The first of these whiskeys has been released as a "fill your own bottle" opportunity in the distillery shop.  It is an 11 year old Irish single malt that was distilled in 2004.  It spent the majority of it's life in a bourbon barrel before being finished for, what would now probably be, around 16 months in a White Burgundy cask.

This is being offered at a very good price of €100 and will obviously be bottled at cask strength, which at the time of writing is 58.4% ABV.

When I sampled this down at the distillery it was a fruit flavoured beast of a dram with notes of grappa and a seriously dry finish.  Extremely enjoyable and worth a look for sure.

The second of these whiskeys has been bottled already and is available in the distillery as a sort of "distillery reserve" bottling.  It is a 16 year old Irish single malt that was distilled in 1999 and has spent it's entire life in a rum cask.

This, in my opinion, is even better value at €85 and is also bottled at a cask strength of 59.7% ABV.

When I sampled this beauty I was blown away.  Rum and raisin ice cream gone mad whilst being incredibly smooth and deliciously sweet.  Out of the two whiskeys tasted this rum cask edged it for me but to be perfectly honest I'm probably going to get myself down to Teeling ASAP and get myself a bottle of each.

There are also rumours of a much older single malt becoming available very soon.

All I can say is that a strongly suggest you get yourselves down to Teeling, if you can, and see for yourselves everything they're doing to push Irish whiskey on to levels never seen before.  I honestly believe in what they are doing and think they will be leading the way for innovation as Irish whiskey continues to grow for years to come.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

The "Spirit of Dublin" is Flowing Again - A Tour of the Teeling Distillery

Towards the end of April I was lucky enough, as part of my membership with the Celtic Whiskey Club, to get the chance to have a behind the scenes tour of the new Teeling Whiskey Distillery, the first new distillery in Dublin for over 125 years.

Located in the very heart of Dublin, a mere 30 minutes walk from Connolly station, the €10 million Teeling Distillery & visitor centre has found it's home in an old market square named Newmarket, an area that, in years gone by, was closely associated with brewing and distilling.

When speaking to our host for the day, master distiller Alex Chasko, it is clear how important it was for the distillery to be located in the centre of Dublin as he casually jokes how the international marketing budget has been blown on acquiring the central Dublin site and, whilst the comedy is obvious, this, for me, highlights a deeper feeling that this distillery would be nothing unless it was deep in the heart of Dublin..... after all how else could they claim to be reviving the "Spirit of Dublin"?

Further reason can be found when browsing Teeling's website as they point to the history of the Teeling family as far back as Walter Teeling, who first set up a craft distillery, in Dublin, way back in 1782.  They go on to state that this commenced a 230 year tradition of distilling for the Teeling family, which is being carried on by Jack and Stephen, the latest generation of Teeling's, who are "forging a bright new future for distilling in Dublin and for Irish whiskey".

Upon arriving to the front of the distillery it is clear that they have gone all out on presentation with beautiful blue / grey stone, large circular windows, to represent the ends of barrels, and a modern entrance where the eye moves up to take in a pagoda style peak to the roof.

At the time of visiting the distillery was most definitely still in "building site" mode but we are reassured that the doors should be open to the public during these first few weeks of May with the visitor centre fully operational by June.

As we walk into the building we are brought through what will be the reception area and into the heart of the distillery, where we find all the operational equipment. 

Getting a peek inside the lauter tun

With plans to make both pot still and single malt whiskey we are first shown their modern day milling machine which mills all grains wet, not only to reduce the dust caused by this process, but to also allow the milling machine to handle the unmalted barley required for pot still whiskey.  The unmalted barley can be extremely tough and milling the grain wet allows it to be ground up much easier.

Moving across the room, past the combination of metal and wooden washbacks, we arrive at the three gorgeous looking stills.  Constructed by the Italian company Frilli Impianti, the wash still is 15,000 litres in size with the low wines still and spirit still being 10,000 litres and 9,000 litres respectively.

Two of Teeling's stills

When looking at the stills it is obvious that the necks are on the short side, leading one other tour participant to enquire if Teeling were deliberately looking to produce a heavier style spirit? 

Alex was able to clarify this perfectly by firstly pointing out that it was mostly down to the restrictions offered by the distillery roof that necessitated the shorter necks (the distillery is not a new build but a renovated warehouse). 

He continued though to explain how this will not force them into to producing a certain style of spirit as they will have greater control of the heating process thus allowing them to create as light, or heavy, a spirit as they wish.

The innovation does not stop there as Teeling have installed not one, but two receivers to collect the "heads and tails" of each distillation.  The reason for this, as explained by Alex, is to play around with flavour profiles that they may find to be in the first stage of a distillation as opposed to the end of the distillation, and vice versa.

As highlighted in a recent press release, the Teeling Distillery has already produced the first whiskey spirit to be distilled in Dublin for 39 years but don't be getting excited just yet.  Alex was quick to point out that, once the builders have finally left, they will probably take a year to simply "get to know" the equipment they have installed.

They are going to take this time to carefully understand what works and what doesn't.  They shall play around with quantities, length of fermentation, style of spirit, style of distillation, and so on, until they are happy with their process.  Only then will we start to see the "Spirit of Dublin" going into any sort of wooden cask.

Once fully operational they are aiming for a capacity of 500,000 litres but Alex suggests that they may have the capability for more and the last bit of glorious info, we are treated to, is that they also have plans to produce a peated pot still whiskey!!

Cask style snug

With the operational side of the distillery covered we are brought back into the first floor visitor area where there shall be a tasting bar and shop.  Once provided with a sample of Teeling whiskey visitors shall be able to relax in a cask style snug, with the circular windows, mentioned earlier, looking out onto the front of the distillery.  It is this attention to detail that, in my opinion, will put this distillery & visitor centre at the forefront of tourist experiences.

To end the tour we are brought onto the balcony of the distillery, which commands impressive views over the Dublin skyline.  Here we are treated to the alcoholic part of our tour which takes the form of two samples, of something special, that will soon be available to everyone.

The whiskeys we are treated to are of the cask strength, single cask variety and there is more to this than just simply giving us a treat as there are plans to have these casks in the visitor centre to allow fans the chance to "bottle their own" Teeling whiskey.

Sampling on the balcony

The first sample was a 16 year old single malt which has been fully matured in a rum cask since being distilled in 1999.  Now, while a windy balcony was not the ideal place to get any real tasting notes down, I can say that this was rum and raisin ice cream gone mad whilst being incredibly smooth and deliciously sweet.  This is definitely one I shall be coming back for via the "bottle your own" scheme.

The second on show was an 11 year old single malt which was matured, for the majority of it's life, in a bourbon barrel before being finished, for around 14 months, in a white burgundy cask.  This is a different beast altogether with huge notes of white grape, a little white wine vinegar and a bigger sense of overall fruit.  This is also extremely dry on the finish and will be a favourite to many but, for me, the rum cask wins the battle.

As we finish off our samples we were informed about a possibility of Teeling producing their own version of the much talked about Jameson "Caskmates", coming as a result of a collaboration between Teeling and Galway Bay Brewery.

Galway Bay recently released an aged stout that had been matured in some of Teeling's small batch rum barrels, the question is definitely "what now for the barrels?" and I can only hope, having tasted the success of the "Caskmates", that Teeling give this experiment a try and treat us all to their fine style of whiskey with some deep stout flavours.

With this the tour came to an end and I left the distillery to make the journey home with the thoughts and excitement of what lies ahead for the Teeling Whiskey Co.  They have already hit the ground running with innovative finishes to fine Irish whiskey and with an excellent distillery, to further build their reputation around, I can only see a bright future on the horizon.

I can only hope that other up and coming Irish distilleries take serious note and strive to achieve as much as Teeling are aiming for.  There's no doubt that this is only the start of the journey, and there's a long way to go, but one thing is for sure... "The Spirit of Dublin" is flowing again.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Huge thanks to "The Celtic Whiskey Club" and "The Teeling Whiskey Co." for the wonderful experience.

Teeling Whiskey Co. - Single Malt - Tweet Tasting - Review

On Monday 8th December 2014 I took part in another fantastic Tweet Tasting, hosted of course by Steve Rush of "TheWhiskyWire.com", in which all involved were presented with the latest release from the Teeling Whiskey Co......their "Single Malt".

December has already been a busy month for the lads at Teeling, with the arrival of the new stills at their Dublin distillery, so it would seem that tonight was the perfect time to have this tasting.

Since releasing their small batch, rum cask finished, blend back in 2012 they've been churning out various fine bottlings including a 21 year old "Silver Reserve" single malt, finished in Sauternes casks and a particularly exceptional "Single Grain" that's matured 

fully in Californian red wine casks.

This latest release continues on their growing tradition of taking fine spirits and pushing the boundaries in terms of maturation and finishing.  

The Teeling "Single Malt" is a no-age statement whiskey but don't let that fool you.  This excellent bottling contains a unique combination of Irish whiskey aged up to 23 years in

five different wine casks – Sherry, Port, Madeira, white Burgundy and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In addition the "Single Malt" has been bottled at 46% ABV and is un-chill filtered.

The obvious question here is can Teeling can pull off the marriage of these five very different cask finishes to produce an end product that really sings from the glass and the answer to this is that they didn't just marry these finishes together perfectly but they've knocked it out of the park.

Onto my notes:

Nose - Lemon oil, sweet malt, all butter fudge and red fruit that comes through in the form of cranberry / raspberry / strawberry jam.  Fragrant, rich and indulgent.  White grape juice, pressed apple juice and a touch of cracked black pepper.  Undiluted blackcurrant juice and stewed oranges.  A little dusty "aged" note arrives over time alongside some polished wood and with more time the nose becomes more sherried with notes of dried fruit, mixed spice, ginger, rich fruit cake and rich cream.

Palate - Initially fruity with aged malt and lovely warm clove spice.  Develops wonderfully into deep orange and more intense red fruit which is almost like raspberry coulis.  Red apple, blackcurrant and mixed berries.  The red wine cask influence is really starting to go into overdrive here.  Delicious.  To hold this in the mouth, and allow the alcohol to ease, creates one intense mouthful of rich fruit juice.

Finish - Fantastic length with a lovely drying feel caused, presumably, from the older whiskey and excellent interaction with the wood.  The finish lingers on with light mixed spice and crunchy red apples.

Overall this is a stunner.  A brilliant marriage of flavours that have been presented in a perfect form.  The spirit has taken on these various flavours with aplomb and it really does show.  Even as I write this the flavours are evolving in the glass and you get the sense that you could spend an entire evening with just two pours of this whiskey and never get bored.  This, alongside Teeling's "Single Grain", is one of the finest Irish whiskies I've ever tasted.  At no point do you get a sense that this has been hurried, or treated with disrespect, and the reward for this care is evident in every mouthful.

On a side note there is the question, that some would ask, as to where did this spirit originate from and if I had to guess I'd go with Bushmills.  

If Teeling going forward, with their new distillery, can replicate this form with their own spirit then they could own Irish whiskey in years to come.  A bold statement I know but why not?

All I have to say is a huge thank you to Steve Rush at TheWhiskyWire.com, where anyone can apply to join in the fun of the tweet tastings, and also a big thank you to the Teeling Whiskey Co. for the excellent sample.  

As with most of my updates I've included a number of relevant web links below.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

The Whisky Wire - http://www.thewhiskywire.com

The Whisky Wire Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheWhiskyWire

Teeling Whiskey Co. - http://teelingwhiskey.com

Teeling Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeelingWhiskeyCompany

Teeling Twitter - https://twitter.com/TeelingWhiskey

Whisky Live Dublin 2014 - Review

A few weeks ago I brought you a bit of a preview of Whisky Live Dublin, which took place in the Mansion House, Dawson Street on Saturday 25th October 2014, and now it's only right that I give a brief review too.

Needless to say it was one hell of a day with more stalls than ever before and a bumper crowd of enthusiasts all enjoying the many delights on show.

Now I have to be honest and state that I didn't quite get the chance, during the show, to get tasting notes down but I shall take you around some of the stalls on show and highlight some of the drinks to keep an eye out for in the near future.

Kilbeggan Distilling Company - Their new 21yo blend has now been released and is as smooth as you'd expect to find from Cooley distillery.  Also of note is that the Greenore 8yo is now named Kilbeggan and the Kilbeggan 18yo is now in a Greenore shaped bottle.  The Greenore shaped bottle is now used across a lot of the range and is obviously going to be key in their marketing going forward.

Echlinville Distillery - You may remember a while back when I got excited at the return of the Dunvilles Whiskey brand only to find the first release to be a little lacklustre?  Well everything I had hoped would happen is happening.  After speaking with distillery owner, Shane Braniff, and seeing what direction future releases shall be taking, I can confirm that exciting times are ahead.  A new Dunvilles release should be imminent which shall be an aged single malt (from a distillery unknown), PX finished and bottled at 46%.  All exactly the way it should be for this distillery to make it's mark on the Irish Whiskey scene.  Watch this space for more on these arrivals as and when they happen.

Glendalough Distillery - Up until this event I was only aware of their 7yo single malt but literally as I was taking a quick pre-show look around the Celtic Whiskey Shop a brand spanking new 13yo single malt appeared before my very eyes.  Having tried both I can confirm that both are of good solid quality and extremely well priced in todays NAS orientated market.  If I'm being honest though the 7yo edged it for me but only just.  Furthermore there is some talk of a possible Belfast tasting coming soon but again watch this space and I shall be updating you when I hear any further.

Knappogue Castle - The stand out highlight of the day was their new 14yo, single cask, marsala wine finished, single malt (which is, of course, from Bushmills).  The complexity combined with layer upon layer of flavour was just outstanding and yet again goes to show what Bushmills could be with a little more licence to be creative, hopefully this shall come with their change of ownership next year.  Knappogue also have a 14yo, single cask, burgundy finished, single malt which, while still good, was nothing compared to the marsala finish.

Teeling Whiskey Company - Yet again here in force and pushing their brand new NAS single malt.  A fantastic wee dram and one which I shall be checking out further in the future.  Another taste of their single grain, backed up by their award for Irish Single Grain Whiskey of the year, just confirmed my opinion that it is a class act.

Celtic Cask (Celtic Whiskey Shop) - JUST the three new releases to show off then?  On show was Seacht (Seven), Ocht (Eight) and Naoi (Nine) which was a peated malt.  Stand out of these three was the Ocht which is an older brother of the Sé (Six) which I've reviewed previously but I have to acknowledge that the Naoi has recently picked up Irish Single Cask Whiskey of the year.

Palace Bar & Jack Ryan - Palace Bar 14yo single malt and Jack Ryan 12yo single malt were the two I tried from these companies and have to say both were excellent with the Palace Bar's offering being particularly special.

Ruby Blue Liqueur -  Whilst not a whiskey I believe they deserve a special mention for their presentation of their drinks.  A delicious range of liqueurs which include blackcurrant, wild blueberry, cranberry and chilli pepper (which got my vote for liqueur of the year).  Using real fruit and grain spirit their drinks are clean, fresh and delicious, especially with cocktails.  Well worth looking out for.

It goes without saying that there were far more stands on show but I probably could've went to both the afternoon and evening sessions and still not have seen everything.  

Well hopefully that has given you an idea of what you missed and what to look out for in the near future.  The main point that I took away from this show was that exciting times are ahead for Irish whiskey and judging by the people involved it's reputation is in excellent hands.

Until next time,

Sláinte.

SI

Teeling Whiskey Company - Tweet Tasting - Review

Towards the end of last month the Celtic Whiskey Club, again, took to the world of Twitter to host a rather special tweet tasting.  This was done in conjunction with The Teeling Whiskey Company as they provided 3 unreleased drams for our enjoyment and consideration.  Teeling Whiskey joined in with the tweet tasting to gauge the feedback as the drams they had provided are potential future releases.

Absolutely nothing was given away prior to the event apart from info on the sample bottles advising all participants that each dram was a single malt.  On the night itself, though, some more info was given away by Teeling's Alex Chasko who informed us that each sample was 46% ABV, non-chill filtered and without caramel colouring.  

We were also told that each was a "no age statement" whiskey.

Onto each sample:

Sample "A" - Alex gave some guidance that this sample had malt from a red wine cask.

Nose - Very light, fresh and summery.  Green apple, cut wet grass, light vanilla and a butter note.  Bags of light citrus lemon zing and with water the whole event became even more fresh and crisp.

Palate - Again, clean, fresh and light.  Fresh white fruit with focus on green apple and light pear.  Citrus fizz with some light pepper and clove.  Sweetness appears and with water the clean fruit dominates.  (My notes read "This is a dram for a boiling hot day")

Finish - Honestly?  Short with fresh cut apple and light spice.

As stated this is a summer dram with heaps of youthful exuberance in the glass

Sample "B" - Was introduced as having similar casks as were used with sample "A"

Nose - The introduction, for me, could not have been more wrong as this was a totally different experience.  Sweet, red apple, red fruit, hints of banana, blackcurrant cordial and with time a lovely dusty note arrives.  This reminded me very much of the "Celtic Cask Se" I reviewed a while back…..as the tasting came to an end this became like buttered popcorn and continued to evolve in the glass.

Palate - Huge, massive, enormous red fruit!!  Strawberry jam, more blackcurrant and extremely juicy.  The dustiness is still in the background in the form of old oak wood but this is perfectly delicious and adds a touch of spice.  With water the red fruit really takes over.

Finish - Lingering red fruit and spice.

This is delicious with a juicy red fruit intensity and evolves all the time to bring more and more to the senses.  FANTASTIC.

Sample "C" - This was billed as having some "very old crystal malt".  BOOM!!!  This, in my eyes, can only mean one thing - BUSHMILLS!!

Nose - This initially struck me as having a very mineral sense about it with also some salt showing through.  The blackcurrant was here, as with sample "B" and again had a feeling of the "Celtic Cask Se".  If I had to pick two of these that were from the same casks it would be "B" and "C", not "B" and "A" but hey, what do I know?  The nose continued with red fruits and a fresh coastal note.  It also managed to show a light(ish) note in the form of lemon and light orange.

Palate - Still coastal and salty with red fruit although now I could sense some clove spice, sweet malt  which combined with the salt to make salted caramel.

Finish - In my opinion this was so similar to sample "B" but slightly shorter with a touch less spice.

This was also an amazing dram with so much going on.

After we had finished the samples we were asked to pick a favourite and to be honest I think if I was asked the same question every day you would get a different answer every day.  Each of these whiskies had it's own personality and each had it's own qualities.  

Sample "A" was the light, fresh youngster, sample "B" the complex gem that just keeps giving and sample "C" was close to sample "B" but with this whole new coastal, salty, mineral side that took you in a whole new direction.

On the night, though, we had to pick one and, after a last minute change of mind, I went for sample "B".  

It really had depths to it that I though were truly amazing but to be fair to the others Teeling have done an unbelievable job in the production of all of these whiskies.  I truly think that they could release all three and each would reach the heights.

All that is left is to thank The Celtic Whiskey Club and The Teeling Whiskey Company for the chance to be part of this amazing tasting and try some drams that have yet to be seen.  AWESOME STUFF.

As before I've added the links to The Celtic Whiskey Club and The Teeling Whiskey Company at the bottom and I wholeheartedly recommend that you pop along and see what these two have to offer.

Until next time,

Slainte

SI

Celtic Whiskey Club - http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Celtic_Whiskey_Club-objectid-1061-recordid-20-z-all.htm

Teeling Whiskey Company - http://www.teelingwhiskey.com

Celtic Whiskey Club - Teeling Whiskey Company "Tweet Tasting" Preview

Hello again,

Just one other wee quick update before I retire for the evening and for this we shall look to another preview of an up-and-coming "Tweet Tasting".

Yet again being a member of the Celtic Whiskey Club is bearing fruit and this time it's with the assistance of the Teeling Whiskey Company.  

On 26th March 2014, at 7:30pm, the Celtic Whiskey Club shall be taking to the world of Twitter to showcase something rather special as, for this awesome tasting, the Teeling Whiskey Company are going all out by supplying 3 extremely unique samples.

These samples shall be three single malts, all of which are slightly different.  They are being coy enough not to explain the differences but there is good reason as this is to be a blind tasting.  What they are asking is for Celtic Whiskey Club members to evaluate them purely on taste, and this is when it starts to get really fun, as these samples are contenders for future releases from the people at Teeling.

As stated the tasting shall be held on 26th March 2014 at 7:30pm and you can all follow along by keeping an eye on the feeds at @celticwhiskeycl and @celticwhiskey.

As I'm sure you are all aware, "Tweet Tastings" are a perfect way to get involved online and interact with like minded people while having some amazing craic.

I hope you all can join in on what promises to be a truly special evening.

Until next time,

Slainte.

SI