Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey

My Price: $49.99

Country/Area: Dublin Ireland

Distillery: Teeling Whiskey Co.

Proof/ABV: 92 Proof 46% ABV

Mash Bill: 95% Corn 5% Malted Barley

Barrel: Finished in ex-Carbernet Sauvignon Wine Barrels

Age: 5 Years

Nose: Vanilla, Honeysuckle, Jam, Cake

Taste: Honey, Raspberry Jam, Corn Dust, Vanilla

My bottle of Teeling Sing Grain was given to me by a friend after combing through my whiskey collection and realizing Irish whiskies were underrepresented. I told him of my love for Redbreast 12 and how I always had a bottle of Jameson Caskmates Stout but that was about as deep into Irish as I typically got. A few weeks later I was handed this bottle after dinner.

Teeling had been on my Wish-key list for quite some time but being an Irish, it tended to stay near the bottom of the list. What a mistake that was. This whiskey is full flavored and lacks the metallic note I often find in traditional Irish Whiskies. The nose has strong hints of vanilla and fruit. The taste of honey and grapes reminds me of some of my favorite wine finished bourbons. After some research I learned that the “single” grain in this whiskey was 95% corn and 5% malted barley. No wonder if seemed like a bourbon!

I love to see distillers trying non-traditional methods such as wine finishing a whiskey that is not made of the traditional barley mash bills often found in Irish whiskies. The fruit notes make it interesting neat and the fact that it does not drink like a 46% makes it one I will often recommend to newer whiskey drinkers who may have started out drinking Jameson.

My Rating: Stock it.

Rating scale:

-Spit: Don’t bother with this one. If a friend gives you a dram of it, are they even your friend?

-Shoot: Good enough to get you drunk.

-Sip: Tasty enough to enjoy neat or on the rocks.

-Stock: I’d recommend keeping a bottle on hand.

May the miles you hike be filled with wonder and the glasses you raise be filled with whiskey.

Cheers!