Teeling Irish Oak Finish
Released as a special distillery exclusive bottling for St. Patrick’s Day this bottling showcases the impact Irish virgin oak has on their Small Batch blended whiskey. Non-chill filtered and bottled at 46% ABV, this release is available from their web store or from their distillery when it reopens. Retailing at €60.
Omar Fitzell Notes
Very reserved nose that took me a while to dissect. Everything about this is light. Whole coffee beans, a touch of tannin spice, cedar, vanilla and some lemon and lime. Maybe I’m having a stroke, but I also got engine oil!
Palate
Creamy mouthfeel that is pleasantly mouth coating. Prickly cinnamon and nutmeg spice dances with a pineapple and peach fruitiness. Some brown sugar sweetness throughout.
Finish
Medium. Green apples show their face with that cinnamon and nutmeg spice continuing but in a very mellow way.
Overall
Irish oak is notoriously hard to work with. Rapidly ageing, it throws tannins into whiskey like it is going out of fashion. But those tannins don’t overload this whiskey by any stretch of the imagination. Yet again, Teeling, and Alex Chasko in particular, has shown they can master any maturation and finish. This is young no doubt, but a very pleasant drinker that I’ll happily return to.
Al Higgins notes
Nose
Needed a bit of coaxing to get the aromas going but time showed touches of charred oak, dark chocolate, mocha, red apples, vanilla and stem ginger.
Palate
A good chunk of fresh fruit flavours and spices. Pineapple chunks, cloves, mango, apples, toasted oak, lemon, ginger and nutmeg.
Finish
More spice and then some oak tannins and chilli infused chocolate.
Overall
Interesting and a nice journey from nosing through to the finish. The Irish oak is noticeable but never over the top or unbalanced.
Omar Fitzell
Omar has been lurking in the background of the Irish Whiskey Industry since 2010 when he started his journey through tasting, enjoying and collecting whiskey. In January 2018 he launched the online blog “That’s Dram Good” which, in those few short months, has become one of the most popular whiskey blogs in Ireland.
You can find him on:
• Twitter – @thatsdramgood
• Facebook – ThatsDramGood
Al Higgins
Over 20 years of experience in drinks retail and a member of the team at the Celtic Whiskey Shop since 2003. Alastair is chief tester and taster at the shop and is also coordinator for the Irish Whiskey Awards. When he is not working he is either training for ultra-marathons, parenting or drumming with his band Le Galaxie.
You can find him on:
• Twitter – @mostlydrinking