This lovely bottle was a gift to our office from some good guys we work with. The whiskey is most likely from the Cooley distillery, formerly owned by the Teelings, currently owned by Beam Suntory. The Teelings did some really good stuff for Irish whiskey with Cooley. Not only did they open (or reopen) a fourth Irish distillery in Kilbeggan (the old Lockes distillery), they also produced a wonderful range of really high quality whiskeys which expanded and drew interest to the Irish Whiskey category. Following the sale of Cooley to Beam Teeling Sr. has started a distillery project in Dundalk - converting a closed brewery into a new distillery. His two sons (responsible for this lovely whiskey and a few others too) who were also involved in the business have opened their own distillery in Dublin which is the first operational distillery in the heart of the capital for some time - possibly 40 years. It will be some time I imagine before either of these projects have top notch whiskey from their own production on the market however it appears as though the sons have secured a substantial amount of stock or a decent supply deal with Beam Suntory or possibly with Middleton or Bushmills? Maybe I'll send them an email and see if they're chatty!
Price: This is available for $65 AU over here which for what it is I think is pretty good value for money. Similar bottlings on the market here are limited to Greenore single grain Irish Whiskey which can be picked up for about $100 AU - 6/6
Packaging and Label: It tells me when it was bottled for some reason? The bottle gives a little blurb about the family history. It tells me the whiskey is finished in Wine casks - unspecific details here but I believe from a little research on the web that they are Californian red wine cask (according to the company website). This is bottled at 46% and is a non chill filtered Single Grain Irish whiskey. There's nothing mentioned about natural colour and no age statement - 4/6
Marketing: The website is quite good with a series of videos and tasting notes, info about distillery tours the usual stuff, the website works well. There's a good video on YouTube of Alex Chasko, the head distiller talking about the whiskey making process at the distillery. The first time I tried Teeling whiskey was at Dublin airport where they had a free tasting stand - how good is that! These guys are young, experienced and good! Links for their website and the YouTube video are below, check them out - 6/6
https://teelingwhiskey.com/teeling-whiskeys/single-grain-whiskey/
https://youtu.be/uzaS6DRy7ok
Availability: This stuff is available in lots of good bars in Melbourne anyway, not just whiskey specialists, it is also available in some bottle-shops over here. It can also be bought online - 5/6
Appearance: Looks natural enough in the glass but a little orange in the bottle - caramel added maybe? Nice gold colour in the glass with a touch of amber, legs form on the glass very quickly, thinner and more far apart then I've noticed before. Looks OK! - 6/6
Nose: Nothing special but not offensive sweet - caramel, something solvent like and some faint grains/ cereal maybe a little sherbet too - 13/20
Taste on entry: Sweet, red wine grapes are notable with some pepper/ ginger spice developing - 15/20
Mouth feel: Good nice and smooth or oily/ buttery - 9/10
Finish: Getting anise in the finish, some citrus - lemons more lemon peel, and vanilla fudge, dry, medium length - 15/20
This is quite an easy drinking, nice whiskey. It's a little like a toned down American/ Canadian whiskey - Rye maybe with the spiciness but not quite as flavoursome. Not the most complex drop but quite nice all the same.
Total Score: 79/100
Cheers,
Kev.
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