Teeling Distillery Exclusive Irish Virgin Oak

This is the 2021 distillery exclusive which was only available at the Teeling distillery or from their online shop, and for each exclusive in the series they take their Small Batch whiskey and finish it in a different cask. Exclusive releases from earlier years were finished in Hungarian virgin oak or Chin-kapin American white oak, and I previously reviewed the chestnut finished release which was an interesting concoction but (for me) ultimately a failed experiment. For this release they took their Small Batch (which is a 75/25 blend of corn and malt aged for about 6 years in ex-bourbon casks) and they applied a 9 to 15 month finish in Irish virgin oak casks. Cream and warm fruits greet the nose, and it reminds me particularly of a Solero Exotic ice cream with vanilla, peach, pineapple and mango to the fore. But there are also some slight herbaceous and floral undernotes. This is unchilfiltered which may account for a more than expected heft on the palate. It's not chewy or oily but it isn't thin either. Some of the same warm fruits come through in taste, along with "a warming oak spice" as the official notes from Teeling suggest. But, boy have they understated that spice! Sorry, Goose, but it's time to buzz the tower. That's how my tongue feels after rolling this whiskey around a while, and a dry pepper dominates the finish. It's good. It's interesting. It's different. And I've got that loving feeling.