Teeling

Single Malt Irish Whiskey
46% alcohol

In my blog article “to die for” I looked at how preconceptions, words and imagery can influence and lead us astray as we navigate the world of whisk(e)y. I mentioned the perceived snobbishness surrounding where a whisk(e)y is produced. As a relative novice I don’t know my way around the intricacies of whisk(e)y production in different countries or how they affect the drink’s taste. I really just go for the philosophy of drinking what I think will taste good to me. Although my first three reviews were of Scotch whiskies, I am keen to continue my learning experience by trying some whiskies from elsewhere and, as Ireland seems to be the other major player in the whisk(e)y World Cup, I figured this would be a good place to start.

I always had the idea that Irish whiskey was a kind of grittier, rougher-and-readier, rock ‘n’ roll version of its Scottish cousin that was perhaps favoured by paupers rather than princes. But I still thought they were otherwise pretty much the same thing. When two countries produce the same product there will undoubtedly be some rivalry between them, especially when these two countries have so much in common in terms of their culture, heritage and geographical location. Whisk(e)y is a matter of national pride for both countries, with both making claims it was first produced on their shores and that their version is superior. I am keen to find out whether or not I can pick up any obvious differences between Scotch and Irish whiskey, other than the fact they spell it differently.

With very little prior experience in Irish whiskey, I didn’t really know where to start. So I drew on that very little prior experience and remembered I had tasted an Irish whiskey before. I was wandering through the airport when the saleswoman in the whisk(e)y shop had just opened a bottle of Teeling ready for tasting. I can’t remember which airport it was or, indeed, which version of Teeling it was, but I do remember enjoying my sample very much. With this in mind, I recently bought myself a bottle of Teeling single malt and, on this beautiful Sunday evening in Berlin, I felt like it was the perfect opportunity to open it and to make a few notes for my first ‘non-Scotch’ review.

To set the scene I have decided to listen to the new album by one my past favourite bands, The Coral. They were very influential to me while I lived as a student in Liverpool, a city that itself has deep-rooted links to Ireland, in terms of its people, sport, music and pub culture. The Coral’s music was always very reminiscent of that classic Mersey sound so I am also excited to listen to this album, which I think could be the perfect musical pairing for this whiskey.

I immediately see from the bottle that my whiskey is non chill filtered, which I have come to understand is a good thing, as it ensures the natural flavour of the whiskey is conserved. Like many other producers, the people at Teeling are clearly keen for us to know this. I also see that this whiskey is bottled at 46% alcohol, so I am expecting the alcohol to be fairly prominent in the drinking experience and I may need to add a drop or two of water, but I’ll give it a try first. What I can’t see on the packaging is any statement telling me how long the whiskey has aged for so I assume there must be some younger whiskeys in the mix. It does however tell me that my whiskey was bottled in April 2020. This information about when it was bottled is not particularly relevant but it suggests to me that Teeling are keen to provide the drinker with some extra information to provide provenance and I think this is a nice touch.

As soon as I open the bottle the smell of delicious tawny port hits me and I’m surprised by its intensity. It reminds me of the smell of the air in the port wine cellars of Porto. I pour myself a glass and immediately stick my nose in for a closer inspection and to breathe in some more of this delicious smell. To my surprise, the smell of the drink in my glass is completely different to the smell that came out of the bottle when I opened it. I take the cork out of the bottle again and have a sniff just to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. Again there is the delicious smell of tawny port. Back to the glass and now I am smelling fresh melon, peach and other tropical fruits that I can’t quite pin down. The smell of the drink in my glass is very light and fresh, whereas that coming from the bottle was extremely dark and rich. As my wife is sitting next to me on the sofa I stick the glass under her nose and ask her to have a sniff and see what she can smell. She describes vanilla, plum, and caramel. I think to myself “what does she know?”. Then I look at the bottle and see that both vanilla and toffee are listed so I think maybe my wife has a better sense of smell than I do. Although this impresses me I do not tell her. Anyway it’s clear from the smell alone that there is a lot going on in this whiskey.

I have a pretty good idea of what the whiskey should taste like before I have a sip. But, once again, it completely surprises me. I am greeted with a very smooth and (compared to the Scotch I am used to drinking) extremely light texture. It feels like the liquid is on my tongue just momentarily before evaporating into the air, almost giving the impression of weightlessness in my mouth. Straight away I notice that the alcohol is not as overpowering as I thought it might be and therefore adding water will not be necessary. After the drama of spilling water on my trousers during my last review, this is a relief to me. In comparison to the very light, fresh aromas I had just smelled, the taste itself is sweet and rich, with hints of raisins or sultanas and more in line with the smell I originally experienced when opening the bottle. Once I have swallowed the whisky I suddenly get a spicy blast of sweet chilli that hangs around for a good few seconds before it fades away to leave a lingering dryness reminiscent of a dry white wine and leaves me crying out for another sip.

Wow. That was impressive, and everything about it completely surprised me. I went in thinking I might be able to sense a subtle difference in an Irish whiskey compared to a Scotch, but this whiskey has blown me away, as there was such a lot happening, and it wasn’t particularly subtle. At Teeling they seem to pride themselves on innovation and doing things differently. I’m not sure exactly what this innovative approach involves and, to be honest, I don’t really need to know, but I can tell that they must be doing something differently because this whiskey is very different to others I’ve tried. I have made a mental note to look into this further. There is usually so much talk of upholding tradition in whisk(e)y production that I am keen to learn about this innovation. This could be the subject of a future blog! One thing I do find out is that this whiskey is matured and finished in a wider range of casks than I am used to. With cask finish whiskies I’ve tasted before, the maturation tends to happen in just one dominant cask type - usually port or sherry, but here the whiskey has been matured with five different cask types: sherry, port, madeira, white burgundy and cabernet sauvignon. This goes some way to explain the different tastes and smells experienced when drinking this whiskey. What I find fascinating is how all these unique flavours the different casks bring can be experienced in just one mouthful of whiskey.

I have read about this whiskey delivering a “symphony” of flavour. At first I find this a pretty fitting description as, like a symphony, it is made up of several sections that come together to form a larger composition. But then I think that this is true of lots of whiskies, as there is always a smell, a palate and a finish and therefore this description doesn’t really differentiate this whiskey enough from the rest. Instead I suddenly think of this whiskey delivering a “rhapsody” of flavour. For me this better reflects not only the different sections, but also that there was a little more spontaneity and unpredictability in the experience. When drinking this whiskey I never really knew what was coming next and every different section felt unexpected and unrelated to the previous one. I felt like the whiskey was itself improvising and suddenly releasing whatever it wanted from the palette of flavours it had available from all those different casks.

My glass is nearly empty but there is still music playing. The Coral’s new album is a double album, which means I will need to refill my glass to get me to the end. It’s time to open the bottle again and see what smell and taste sensations the whiskey will deliver to me this time. Listening to the spooky psychedelia of Coral Island (which I fully recommend) whilst drinking this exciting and intriguing whiskey has made my brain work quite hard this evening. Life is definitely not boring on the sofa.

I am far too inexperienced to offer any conclusion at this stage about the deeper differences between Irish whiskey and Scotch. And, of course, I have no idea if this whiskey is representative of Irish whiskey as a whole, or if this really is something that is completely different and innovative. All I do know is that the tastes and textures here were completely different to anything I’ve experienced so far with Scotch and that my first experience of Irish whiskey has been a real eye opener. I don’t really think it matters who invented the drink or who spells the word correctly. As an Englishman living in Berlin, I stand happily on the fence with my tumbler in hand, waiting to be impressed by the whisk(e)y produced on both sides. I certainly look forward to doing a lot more research into this great debate.

Score: 9/10

Reviewed by Peter on 23 May 2021

While drinking I was listening to ‘Coral Island’ by The Coral.