Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey

A shamrock stamped on your passport as you enter a place nicknamed "The Emerald Isle"; a population that joyously celebrates St. Patrick's Day as a national holiday; an island with a beautiful rugged coastline .... in the Caribbean. Montserrat. That's what comes to mind with this rum-finished Irish whiskey. The nose is somewhat faint with cereal, honey, floral, apple/pear notes showing through, with some treacle too. Cereal is repeated on the palate, with some strong sugar sweetness and baking spice on arrival. It develops more to tea and oak at the end, and has a medium-long, dry finish of tea and citrus rind. Altogether a very solid dram, and probably my favourite rum finished whiskey over others that I recall tasting, such as The Balvenie Caribbean Cask and Tullamore D.E.W. XO Caribbean Rum finish. Enough scribbling. Back to my daydream of a pasty white Irishman lounging and sipping by the white sand of a Caribbean beach.

I've heard these guys are doing some good things, so I figured I'd start with their entry level offering too see what it's all about. Nose: Fruit heavy. Banana and red grape. There are also some tangy, citrus notes of lemon, grapefruit, and orange. These dissipate the longer it sits. Vanilla, shortbread cookie, tart, and toffee are also present. There is another note that I can only describe as "toasted," and it's quite nice. I get a bit of that metallic note that I commonly find with young Irish whiskies. Still a good nose though. Palate: Some basic toffee, shortbread cookie, cereal, and vanilla notes. There's also some respectable heat to this one. Very malty and grassy. Oak is present as well. It seems like a very basic Irish at a glance. But if you look had enough you'll find sugar cane and molasses, evidence that this of the rum cask. More of the metallic note here, but not enough to tarnish what is otherwise a solid sip. Overall, it's light, but it's got just enough going on to distinguish itself from the herd. Finish: And then the heat hits. This one waits till the finish to let you know that it's 46 percent, which is relatively high in the Irish category. Big time spice. Cinnamon and red pepper. Long finish. Slightly metallic once again, but nothing excessive. This is a unique Irish whiskey. The rum cask works well here, and I really appreciate the boost in ABV. It's solid from start to finish, though I'd say the nose stands out just a bit more. I was hovering between a 3.5 and 3.75. It was the metallic notes that caused me to choose the former. It's not a deal breaker, but I think this blend could use a higher percentage of older juice. If you're into Irish, this is definitely worth a try. And if you're looking to get into the genre, this is one of the more respectable entry level bottlings out there. It's worth the $40 (though I think it'd be reasonable to drop it $35) and it's good enough to warrant exploration of their higher end expressions.