Tasted #164: Teeling Whiskey Single Grain Irish Whiskey

Way back over 100 tastes ago, we discussed Teeling's Small Batch Irish Whiskey, and really enjoyed the value for money it provided, as well as its points of difference (46% ABV, non chill-filtered, Rum cask-aged, Irish) in a market increasingly filled with 40% ABV chill-filtered Scotch whiskies.

Fast forward to 2015 and the chaps at Teeling Whiskey Company (who are rapidly increasing their presence in Australia) kindly sent me a sample of the newly Australian-released Teeling Whiskey Single Grain Irish Whiskey (as well as a spiffy Teeling tweed cap, and another sample which I'll keep hush hush for now, but will be hitting Australian shelves later this year...).

Continuing with the unique cask aging, Teeling have completely aged this whiskey in Californian Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks. Having tried many a wine cask aged whisk(e)y before, and generally enjoyed their unique nature, I was very keen to try this, especially since hearing it won the "World's Best Grain" at the World Whiskies Awards last year.

The whole Teeling range is only available at Dan Murphy's in Australia (no word on Hong Kong availability yet), and this particular bottle sells for a very reasonable $59.95.

Teeling Whiskey Single Grain Irish Whiskey (46% ABV, NAS, Dublin Ireland, $59.95)
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Colour: Vibrant coppery gold.

Nose: Rich, with citrus and blueberry notes up front, and some confectionary sweetness following. Very enjoyable - one of those whiskies you hope doesn't then let you down with a thin, anaemic palate...

Palate: ....and it doesn't! Big and rich at first, with lots of spice and some berry notes carrying through. It quickly becomes very drying (a feature we've found with almost all red wine cask-aged whiskies we've tried), with some residual sweetness at the end. More-ish.

Finish: Drying and tannic, and enjoyable, with subtle hints of spice, but far too short.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100. Another winner from Teeling. Grain whisky may not yet be in the mainstream (though David Beckham is doing his best to change that), but I think this Teeling Single Grain will have a good chance of putting it there (and I'd happily drink it over Haig Club!)