Teeling Explorers Series Brazilian Edition

Thank you to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample of this one. I think this is my first time trying anything aged in Amburana, which seems a little surprising considering lately you can't shake a stick in a liquor store without hitting a bottle of something Amburana finished. Incidentally, I've been banned from multiple liquor stores for shaking sticks in them. The smell and taste of this is so much stewed cinnamon apples. Very sweet, almost artificial, and coming across like a liqueur. I've never tried an Ole Smoky flavored moonshine, but if they had a flavor called Apple Pie Filling and this was inside, I'd say they nailed it. I think I like this a little better than previous tasters on here, but it's too sweet to enjoy much of. My one ounce sample was broken up into 3 separate tastings. It's interesting and unique. I imagine a creative cocktail could be created with this as the base, but I'm not much of a cocktailer.

For our quarterly virtual tasting with @PBMichiganWolverine , @ctbeck11 , @Richard-ModernDrinking and @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington , @PBMichiganWolverine was kind enough to treat us to a round the world assortment of drams. First was a single cask IB 14 year Tamdhu (Scotland) Second was the 2022 Chichibu Peated Edition (Japan) Third was the Chattanooga Islay Finish (America) that was bottled at 47.5% ABV. Fourth might have been a Thomson Saison Yeast Cask #39(New Zealand) that was bottled at 53.4% ABV Fifth might have been an Elements of Islay Bn7 (Scotland) that was distilled in 2001 and aged for more than 16 years in a pair of oloroso sherry butts before being bottled at 55.7% ABV. Last of the night was this 12 year old Teeling (Ireland) that was aged in an Amburana cask before being bottled at 46% ABV. The nose is a very straightforward yet delightful pineapple upside down cake that has a dash too much cinnamon and mild ethanol burn which carries over to the palate with a medium viscosity and minor sourness before a finish that veers into an earthy clay bitterness akin to enjoying a piece of cake before a sudden backhand to the face from a perturbed spouse after their pottery class due to stumbling upon a poorly hidden receipt of an exorbitant whiskey purchase. This started out promising with those creamy pineapple cake notes found on the nose and palate, but that finish is simply too much for me as I’m more sensitive towards bitter flavors than others and that clay bitterness overpowers all those cakey delicious pineapple notes that I would have really liked to linger on the finish. Overall, this was another fantastic virtual tasting with a hell of a lineup of delicious drams and I look forward to our next round and what surprises are in store for our little group.

Business travel is so unlike vacation travel. When you go to a city on vacation, you always have a checklist of places to visit. On my business trip to London last week, I had my list, of which one place I wanted to go to was Cadenhead’s shop in central London. Was purely delusional, all I ever got to see was the insides of the office and the hotel. But, I did manage to visit World of Whisky at LHR before my flight out. There I picked up this bottle. Tons of Cadbury chocolates for the kids, and a bottle of whisky for me. I was particularly looking for something I can’t order online , and wasn’t available in the US. The only two that seemed to fit the bill, and also affordable (less than £100) was this Teeling and Ardbeg’s Smoketrails. I held off on the Ardbeg because I knew I was going to receive a pour from @Richard-ModernDrinking anyway. I had a small sip at the shop, but had a more substantial pour when I popped open my bottle last night. Nose is immediate alcohol and tin fruits. The alcohol smell subsides, and it’s just fruits and bread. I think the palette is where it hits its stride. Fresh pineapples and green apples. A bit of baked pastries. Emphasis is all on freshly cut pineapples. I don’t think I’ve ever had whiskey aged in Amburana. It’s used more for cachaca. But I’m seeing this trend more and more ( Starlight with their bourbon, Whistlepig with the rye). Another exotic cask I guess. This cask seems unique in that it seems to impart a fruity pineapple flavor. Overall, not bad, but not sure it was worth the £75 I paid for it. I think this needed a few more years and maturity. Just didn’t seem as developed.