Teeling "Blackpitts" Peated Irish Whiskey [Tasted #528]

My enjoyment of Teeling Whiskey is well documented on this blog, having first tried their whiskey way back in 2013 (a year after brothers Jack & Stephen Teeling started operations), and many times since - including some incredible single casks from the early 1990s, with their trademark Irish tropical fruitiness.

The thing is, those whiskies weren't actually distilled at the Teeling Distillery in Dublin (which only opened in 2015, a year before the brand's Hong Kong launch), but rather at the Cooley Distillery, which was started by Stephen & Jack's father John, but sold to Beam in 2011. 

Things changed in 2018, when Teeling's Dublin Distillery released their first Dublin-distilled whiskey (Pot Still, which I shamefully still haven't tried), and last year the distillery released their second Dublin-distilled whiskey, in the form of this peated "Blackpitts".

Aged in a mixture of Sauternes (1/3) and ex-Bourbon (2/3) casks, the triple-distilled whiskey takes its name from the area located behind the distillery, previously home to some of the largest barley malting houses in Ireland.

It ticks a lot of the same boxes that Teeling's first "Small Batch" did all those years ago (46%, NCF, well-priced, matured in an interesting mix of casks etc..) but let's see how it tastes shall we? 

Teeling "Blackpitts" (46% ABV, NAS, Dublin, Ireland, $729HKD, $94.99AUD)
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Colour: Light orange straw.

Nose: A lighter, funkier style of peat than your typical Islay peated whisky. Tangy BBQ sauce, white pepper and a slight hint of oak.

Palate: Apple chips, honey toast, peach and subtle pineapple. A delightful funk, with some subtle caramel undertones.

Finish: Fairly short, with some spiced oak and milk chocolate.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 87/100. I enjoyed this - it's an unusual style of peat (no doubt the triple distillation is part of the reason), but with some delicious complementary notes. A great addition to the range.

A big thanks to Teeling Whiskey Co & Summergate Hong Kong for this bottle, which is available for $729HKD from Summergate's Website in Hong Kong.

Cheers,

Martin.

Teeling 24yo heads up a trio of new releases for Australia [Tasted #465 - 467]

Teeling is a distillery that's been featured pretty heavily on the blog in the past, and with good reason. They bottle (and distill) a range of unique, varied and fantastic whisky, and seem to have a knack for clever cask finishing, which was clearly on show with three whiskies that recently showed up at TimeforWhisky.com HQ...

The first probably needs no introduction - Teeling Whiskey 24 Year Old, judged "World’s Best Single Malt 2019" at the World Whiskies Awards (one of the few competitions whose judging process I respect). The whisky spent 21 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, before undergoing 3 years of finishing in ex-Sauternes casks. This is actually the second time we've tasted the 24yo on the blog, with an earlier batch being tasted back in 2016.

Personally, my interest is always piqued when I see a respectable distillery finishing in something (relatively) obscure like a Sauterne cask, as the results can be hit or miss, but I figure with a whisky like this it's much more like to be the former.

The second hits a little closer to home for Aussies. The Teeling 17-year-old Single Malt Whiskey – Jim Barry Shiraz Cask Collaboration sees Teeling finished (for an unspecified period of time) in barrels which previously held red wine - specifically Jim Barry’s 2016 release of “The Armagh” Shiraz, a "Super Premium" Aussie Shiraz retailing for over $300AUD (the whisky itself comes in at only $200AUD/bottle).

Rounding out the trio is another collaboration and another interesting finish - Teeling Whiskey Imperial Stout Cask Finish, a NAS collaboration with the Galway Bay Brewery based on the west coast of Ireland. Described by Teeling founding brother Jack Teeling as a collaboration coming "full circle", the casks used to mature the brewery's "200 Fathoms Imperial Stout" were originally Teeling Small Batch casks. After maturing the beer once, they were then used to mature Teeling's much-loved Small Batch (see here for our review way back in 2013) once again.

Samples of each were kindly sent our way recently, and despite a leakage incident during shipping (impacting the 24yo sample no less!) there was just enough for Hendy and I to each review and give our thoughts. So without further ado...

Teeling Whiskey 24 Year Old (46% ABV, 24yo, Ireland, $600AUD)

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Colour: Rich bright Orange Gold

Nose: Martin: Passionfruit with a dusting of icing sugar, followed by richer notes of maple syrup & blackberry and rounded out with some lemon citrus notes.
Hendy: A strong whiff of pineapple, tropical juice, breakfast cereal or perhaps barley. There is some honey and creamy vanilla mixed on the nose. The nose is light, especially compared with the extremely fruity 17yo.

Palate: Martin: Rich, creamy and mouth-filling beyond what its 46% ABV might suggest.  Passionfruit tart hits you first, then guava, then vanilla essence. There are hints of other tropical fruits (as are so often evident on good Irish drams of this age) - pineapple and kiwifruit. Just a delicious, rich fruity dessert.
Hendy: The palate is velvety and smooth, almost grandeur with layered fruits. The pineapple and tropical juice comes on the palate only very subtly followed by light berries jam. Pop rocks popping candy without the pop (is that possible). The palate is very very creamy, quite viscous and laden with vanilla and subtle hints of those tropical fruits. There's a tiny bit of citrus note that follows & comes through quite late, though the palate remains light and delicate.

Finish: Martin: Long, fruity and slightly smoked. Passionfruit lemon tart, with an almost-burn baked crust, and then some residual oak that hangs on until the end.
Hendy: Very gentle, very long, the fading of the notes is nice and slow and only soft fruity notes linger on.

Rating (on our very non-scientific scale):  93/100 (Hendy) & 92/100 (Martin).

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Teeling Whiskey 17 Year Old Jim Barry Shiraz Cask Collaboration (46% ABV, 17yo, Ireland, $199.99AUD)

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Colour: Orange gold.

Nose: Martin: Fruity! Oranges and passionfruit, then red berries. Slight hints of banana integrate well too. Fruit salad in a glass.
Hendy: The nose is very fruity. There is creamy mango with some bananas and topped with Ribena juice. There's that homemade danish pastry that have been topped with loads of berries. This nose is amazingly delicious.

Palate: Martin: The red berries are the first thing to hit you. Then there are some oats - creamy breakfast oats. Really creamy. In fact, you know those Uncle Toby's Strawberry Yoghurt muesli bars that Aussie kids often had in their lunch boxes as children? Exactly those. Then there's some white chocolate orange slices to round things out.
Hendy: I'm a big fan of tasting what you nose and this expression does not disappoint. The berries come through prominently with some vanilla and creamy mango ice cream. This is a real fun palate and followed by a slight oak bitterness that's there but does not detract from the fruit notes. After a while, the palate gets a little chalky before some spices hit the back of the palate.

Finish: Martin: Long, ever so slightly dry with notes of strawberry chocolate to the end.
Hendy: Dry and long, the sweet notes remain with slight tingly spices, almost like Pop Rocks popping candy (berry flavours). Overall, very enjoyable and very delicious.

Rating (on our very non-scientific scale):  93/100 (Hendy) & 91/100 (Martin).

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Teeling Whiskey Small Batch Stout Cask Irish Whiskey (46% ABV, NAS, Ireland, $79.99AUD)

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Colour: Light yellow gold.

Nose: Martin: In a word (or two): yellow fruits. Pear and peach at first, then some banana.
Hendy: Fruity and sweet, there's fresh honey dew and light citrus notes with quite prominent bright and hop nose.

Palate: Martin: Unusual. There's a hoppy, slightly astringent bitterness, then sweetness, then some lemon coming through, but more like lemon-scented cleaning products (that sounds bad, it's not in reality) and white grapes.
Hendy: Creamy and milky, there's a hint of roast coffee beans mixed with some milk chocolate followed by a subtle bitterness, perhaps more of that hops though the hops does not overtake the palate. The creamy stout profile comes through after a while and the bitterness stays on the palate for a while longer.

Finish: Martin: Short to medium in length, with that hoppy, subtle bitterness remaining to the end.
Hendy: The stout remains and becomes prevalent but it's a nice after taste, almost like the after taste you get after that first sip of a fresh cold lager. This is delicious stuff and is very different to the usual fruity Teeling notes.

Rating (on our very non-scientific scale):  91/100 (Hendy) & 85/100 (Martin). Clearly Hendy liked this one more than me!


Cheers,
Martin..

Pairing "World Whiskies" with Indian cuisine at McSorley's Hong Kong

With the immense popularity growth of whisky in Hong Kong in recent years, it's no surprise to see an increase in both dedicated whisky bars (when we started covering the Asia scene for example, there was no Club Qing or Ginger - now two of HK's best whisky bars), as well as existing bars increasing their focus on whisky.

Much loved McSorley's Ale House fall into the latter camp, with their new SoHo location in Staunton St, Central. The traditional Irish pub is increasing their focus on whisky (all whisk(e)y, not just Irish), and plans to do so with a regular calendar of events.

We went along to a recent event - a tasting of 4 "world whiskies" (which actually ended up being 7), paired with four Indian dishes. Indian cuisine may not seem like the most obvious to pair with whisky, but we applaud the bar's bravery in exploring this front (and as we discovered, it actually worked well). 

Whisky Ambassador Jessica Kwok was our host for the night, kicking things off with a brief introduction into the new whisky nights concept at McSorley's, as we all enjoyed the welcome cocktail - a mixture of Tullamore D.E.W, ginger syrup, soda and bitters. Much like the laid-back, relaxed nature of a traditional Irish pub, McSorley's SoHo is looking to keep their whisky nights informal and fun, but with a sizeable list of quality whiskies.

Jessica explained that given the group is already well-known for their Indian menus, they figured why not try to pair that with their new whisky aspirations...and without further ado, we jumped into the first pairing - Bulleit Rye with vegetable samosa. I've always enjoyed Bulleit Rye, but with a 95% rye mashbill, there's no denying it's a spicy whisky. Pairing that with vege samosas resulted in, well, a spicy pairing. A tasty one though.

Next up was Teeling Single Grain paired with Butter Chicken. This worked quite well too, with the whisky making the chicken seem sweeter, and the sauce more perfurmed.

Of course, it wouldn't have seemed right if there was no Indian whisky, and so our third course saw Amrut Single Malt (see our distillery tour here) paired with fish Makani. This was by no means a bad pairing, but neither the whisky nor the dish really seemed to elevate or substantially alter the notes in the other.

For a brief interlude before our final pairing, Jessica broke out her personal bottle of Breckenridge Bourbon, a young whiskey from the Rocky Mountains. Whilst I was sceptical at first (having tasted a lot of young, generic Bourbon over the years), I was pleasantly surprised with this - a delicious Bourbon with notes of toffee, oak, vanilla cream and red apples.

Back to the food, and our last pairing - Famous Grouse "Smoky Black" paired with tandoori chicken. Jessica explained that they'd tried this dish with various Laphroaigs and Bowmores, but found the toned-down, subtle smoke in the Famous Grouse worked best as a pairing, and to be fair, it did work well, with the charred smoke of the chicken and the subtle smoke of the blend mixing nicely, and creating what I thought was the best pairing of the night.

Indian may not seem like the natural choice when looking for food to pair with whisky, but in this case, it was a fun and interesting experiment that produced some enjoyable combinations. Well done to McSorley's, and we're looking forward to their future whisky events (including one soon with The Lost Distillery Company).

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasted #334 - 335: Teeling 13 Year Old "Revival II" and Teeling 24 Year Old Single Malt

We've been pretty fortunate here at TimeforWhisky to try pretty much every major Teeling release that makes its way to Australia, and since it's launch in Hong Kong earlier this year, Hong Kong too.

Teeling has taken off in a big way in Hong Kong this year, and that means more releases for HK, and more opportunities to sample those releases (without Teeling having to send them all the way from Australia, which they've kindly done on several occasions)!

The latest releases to hit the Hong Kong market are the 24 year old Single Malt, and 13 year old "Revival II" (following on from Revival, tasted back in May), both of which I've just tasted this weekend.

Teeling 24 Year Old Single Malt (46% ABV, 24yo, Dublin, Ireland, HK pricing TBC / AU pricing TBC / £220.78 ex-VAT)
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One of 5,000 bottles. Matured in ex-Bourbon barrels and married in ex-Sauternes casks.

Colour: Light copper.

Nose: Dusty, varnish/furniture polish. Leather. All those "old whisky" notes I love! There's also some cherry freshness, candied almonds, and blackcurrants. Lots of blackcurrants! Hugely perfumed - it noses a bit like an old Bowmore, minus the smoke.

Palate: Massively creamy blackcurrant notes. Tropical notes too - grapes, mango. Oily mouthfeel, with lots of wine gum notes coming through after time too.

Finish: Medium to long length, with notes of caramel and wine gums.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. Probably the most unique Teeling I've tried, and up there with the most enjoyable!

Teeling 13 Year Old "Revival II" (46% ABV, 13yo, Dublin, Ireland, HK pricing TBC / AU pricing TBC / £83.29 ex-VAT)
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Aged for 12 years in ex-Bourbon barrels and finished for 12 months in ex-Calvados casks.One of 5,000 bottles. Matured in ex-Bourbon barrels and married in ex-Sauternes casks.

Colour: Vibrant yellow straw.

Nose: Big tropical fruits - mango, guava. Vanilla and strawberry-flavoured bubblegum. Some green apple.

Palate: Spice and oak initially, then the tropical notes come through - green apple, big pepper and some milk chocolate. The effects of the Calvados finishing are subtle but noticeable.

Finish: Long, slightly tannic (though not unpleasantly so), with some mango and orange chocolate at the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 89/100. An enjoyable, easy-drinking and quintessential Teeling...with a twist.

Thanks as always to Teeling Whiskey Co and Summergate Fine Wines & Spirits for the samples.

Cheers,
Martin.

This week in whisk(e)y #32 - The Balvenie's David Stewart tours Australia, Teeling release 2nd whiskey in "The Revival" series and Jameson & Young Henrys commence "Boilermates" partnership

As you might know if you read this blog regularly, we get a fair few interesting press releases and news articles here at TimeforWhisky, and usually try to feature them with our own spin, experiences or comments. Sometimes though, they come thick and fast, and we just don't have time to do them all justice. So we've decided to take a leaf out of some other excellent whisky blogs, and feature a "PR roundup" every now and then - basically a wrap-up of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week or so (including other interesting whisk(e)y news Steph, Hendy & or I think you might enjoy). So on with it then...

David Stewart of The Balvenie tours Australia this July
Last month we enjoyed The Balvenie's "DCS Compendium" launch in Hong Kong, in the company of the brand's global ambassador Sam Simmons. This month Sam will be in Australia, joined by The Balvenie's iconic Malt Master David Stewart, who has been with the distillery since 1962!

Long-time readers might remember our masterclass with David Stewart last year in Hong Kong, or our interview with Sam in 2013.

The DCS Compendium will be a set of 25 bottles, released in 5 "Chapters" of 5 bottles each, and accompanied by a book written by Sam Simmons. Each chapter explains the themes of that year’s collection in detail and explores the fundamental aspects in the development of David’s career – including Influence of Oak, Secrets of the Stock Model and Expecting the Unexpected.

Chapter One was released in October 2015, and comprises the following 5 whiskies: 

• 1968 Aged 46 years
• 1978 Aged 37 years
• 1985 Aged 30 Years
• 1997 Aged 17 years; and
• 2005 Aged 9 years. 

Unlike Hong Kong (which has only received one official bottle for sale, the 1978, rather than the full Chapter), the complete Chapter One is currently available in Australia through Dan Murphy’s for $57,000.

David is on a week-long tour, commencing today (Friday 15th July), which will see him conduct a series of education sessions for both trade and consumers.

Teeling Whiskey releases second "The Revival" bottling - 13yo single malt Irish whiskey finished in ex-Calvados casks
Following on from Teeling Whisky Company's' recent 15yo "The Revival" (tasted here) comes the second "Revival" bottling - this time a 13 year old single malt aged for 12 years in ex-Bourbon casks, and a further year in 250 litre ex-Calvados casks.

We've loved all the weird and wonderful maturation techniques / finishes that Teeling have been doing for a while now, so can't wait to see what sort of impact ex-Calvados casks have on their single malt.

Bottled at 46%, "The Revival Volume II" will initially be available in the UK and Europe, followed by select international markets (including Australia, but HK hasn't yet been confirmed).

Press release below:

"...The second limited edition bottling in The Revival Commemorative Series, Volume II, consists of a 13 Year Old Single Malt Irish whiskey distilled in 2002 and matured initially for 12 years in ex-Bourbon casks. It is then given a further 12 months’ maturation in 250 litre ex-Calvados French apple brandy casks imparting an extra apple and pear character unique to Irish whiskey. Further by bottling at 46% ABV with no chill filtration completes an Irish whiskey of true character.

 The expansion of the Teeling Whiskey range continues with the release of The Revival Vol II which joins their stable of award winning Irish whiskeys which have won over 75 International accolades over the last three years. The maturation provided by the Calvados cask creates a unique taste profile, reminiscent of floral baked apples and cinnamon rounded off with a toffee sweetness that’s perfectly balanced with a white pepper spiciness. The signature tart green apple and cut grass hues of this limited edition Single Malt can be enjoyed neat, with water or in a cocktail.  

Jack Teeling, Founder and Managing Director of the Teeling Whiskey Company, commented, “The one-year anniversary of our award winning distillery and visitor centre is a major milestone in the history of the Teeling Whiskey Company. We released Revival Vol I when the distillery first opened and one year on we are proud to unveil a second celebratory bottling – The Revival Vol II.

Once again we selected a very special whiskey to celebrate the revival of distilling in Dublin with the first ever Calvados cask matured Irish whiskey. Our second bottling will be limited to only 10,000 bottles and sold both through our distillery as well as our domestic and international distributors.""

Young Henrys and Jameson Irish Whiskey announce ‘Boilermates’ partnership
We love a good boilermaker here at TimeforWhisky, and also love a good Aussie craft beer. As we (obviously) love whisk(e)y, it's fair to say we're excited about this new partnership between Jameson Irish Whiskey and Young Henrys (a great microbrewery based in Newtown, Sydney), involving Jameson's "Caskmates" whiskey - an Irish whiskey finished in ex-beer casks. We tasted Caskmates last year, and far from being a gimmick, the stout finishing actually gives the beer lovely dark, coffee-like notes. In short, it works well.

From now until the 31st August 2016 participating venues across Australia will be serving Jameson Caskmates x Young Henrys boilermakers. The boilermaker, being re-branded as a ‘Boilermate’, consists of a Jameson Caskmates serve paired with a Young Henrys beer of choice. 

To find out more and for a list of participating venues go to www.younghenrys.com/boilermates

Thats all for this week. Until next time...

Cheers

Martin. 

Tasted #287: Teeling Whiskey 15 year old "The Revival"

Teeling Whiskey Co, which we've talked about once or twice (ahem) on this blog before, and which launched in Hong Kong earlier this year, recently launched their new 15yo "The Revival" in Australia. Ahead of a (hopefully) soon Hong Kong launch, we were lucky enough to be given an advance preview tasting (along with some always-appreciated Teeling swag). It was also our first time christening our new TimeforWhisky.com Glencairn glasses!

Teeling Whiskey Co 15 year old "The Revival" (46% ABV, 15 years old, Dublin, Ireland, $159.99AUD / £83.78)

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Colour: Yellow gold.

Nose: Sweet, but not one-dimensionally so. Citrus sweetness. Confectionary sweetness. Umm..carrot juice? Lots of carrots! Corn bread. After a few more goes, some vegetal notes, coconut and even some lemon. Something for everyone!

Palate: Smooth and viscous, and incredibly rich. Sweet demerara sugar, mollases, with an underlying meatiness and hints of sesame and toasted oak. It's intense, but never overwhelming. Very well put together. A hint of sherbert bon-bon lollies, grapefruit flesh, and green papaya.

Finish: Long with a hunt of smoke, a decent amount of oak, chamomile tea and some vegetable juice.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Certainly a mixed bag of flavours, but all up very enjoyable.

Cheers,

Martin.

TimeforWhisky.com would like to thank Teeling Whiskey Co for the sample.

This week in whisk(e)y #28 - Highland Park Ice Edition, Teeling St Patrick's Day celebrations and Australian launch of Revival 15yo, Dragon-8 to auction incredible Macallan collection in Hong Kong

As you might know if you read this blog regularly, we get a fair few interesting press releases and news articles here at TimeforWhisky, and usually try to feature them with our own spin, experiences or comments. Sometimes though, they come thick and fast, and we just don't have time to do them all justice.

So we've decided to take a leaf out of some other excellent whisky blogs, and feature a "PR roundup" every now and then - basically a wrap-up of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week or so (including other interesting whisk(e)y news Steph, Hendy & or I think you might enjoy). So on with it then...

Highland Park Ice Edition
Spotted recently by eagle-eyed US patent-watchers, and just recently posted on Master of Malt's website, is the first of what seems to be a new series of Highland Park limited releases, picking up from where the "Valhalla Collection" left off, following its final release in the series - Odin (which recently launched in Hong Kong).

Photo credit: MasterofMalt.com

Keeping with the Norse theme (of course), the new series begins with the "Ice Edition", which apparently will also come in a cradle, like the Valhalla Collection's longboats, although this time shaped like a mountain.

Matured in primarily ex-Bourbon casks, the whisky is said to most closely resemble the Freya (which we saw launch in Hong Kong in 2014), with a light, fruity nose and hints of peat smoke on the palate.

At 53.9% ABV and 17yo, it sounds like one we're keen to get our hands on. Limited to 30,000 bottles apparently (no exact word on release dates or markets just yet, but watch this space).


St. Patrick's Day with Teeling Whiskey and the launch of "The Revival" 15yo in Australia
There's probably not much more to say about Teeling Whisky that we haven't already said (suffice to say, we're fans). In three years the range has grown to 46 countries, and the new limited edition "The Revival" 15yo Single Malt will soon be available in Australia.

Teeling’s Asia-Pacific Brand Ambassador and Dublin native, Martin Lynch, has helped Teeling grow to become available in Australia at Dan Murphy’s, independent liquor stores and, since 2015, bars too, including some of the country’s top cocktail establishments.

“As an Irishman and whiskey enthusiast, it really is a dream job to be representing such a unique Dublin brand here in Australia. The Teeling brothers have been working extremely hard and we have already won some brilliant awards. Since launching, it’s been great to see the fantastic response to the whiskey from Australian consumers and trade,” says Martin."

Teeling are celebrating St Patrick’s Day (Thursday 17 March) in Australia this year with a decadent event in Melbourne, kicking off celebrations early at the St Patrick’s Day Eve Party at Bar 1806 in Melbourne on 16 March. For those keen to join in the celebrations (and perhaps see what makes Teeling so good), see teh details below:

St Patrick’s Day Eve Party
When: Wednesday, 16th March 7pm
Where: Bar 1806, 169 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
What: An evening of Teeling Whiskey with cocktails on arrival, Irish inspired canapes, and a tasting of five Teeling whiskies including a new limited edition
Tickets: $40AUD
Booking: online via http://www.1806.com.au/activity/st-patricks-day/ call 03 9663 7722, or stop by the bar to pick up your tickets.



Dragon-8 Auctions to auction incredible collection of The Macallan in Hong Kong this weekend
The Hong Kong whisky auction scene is certainly popular the moment, with a number of high profile auction houses (led by Bonhams, whose latest auction we recently attended) and equally high profile lots (like the $900k+ HKD 52yo Karuizawa during "peak Karuizawa" last year).

A relative newcomer to the scene, Dragon-8 are no exception, with their upcoming auction (this Saturday 27th February) featuring a few lots that are rarely (if ever) seen. For example:

• A full vintage set of The Macallan
• A full set of The Macallan Lalique decanters
• An entire cask of The Macallan (and Highland Park, and Dalmore, and Bowmore)
• There's even a 30L bottle (that's a Melchisedech) of Armand de Brignac - Ace of Spades Champagne should anyone feel like celebrating after winning a sought after lot...

We met a few of the staff (and Founder Gil Lempert-Schwarz) at the Hong Kong Whisky Festival on the weekend, and had a chat about some of the upcoming lots, which also include the likes of rare Laphroaigs, a 50yo OB Highland Park, both the 70yo (Glenlivet) and 75yo (Mortlach) decanters from Gordon & Macphail, a few rare Ardbegs and a smattering of Karuizawas.

With some lots continue their meteoric rise, and other lots seemingly "cooling off" from the mid last year, this should be an interesting one to watch. One thing's for sure - those Macallan lots will be popular!

The Dragon 8 Auction will take place at The Pool House on the 11th floor of The Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai on Saturday, February 27th, 2016, beginning at 11 am. To reserve a place, attendees can fill out a registration form at www.dragon-8.com

Thats all for this week. Until next time...

Cheers, 
Martin.

Teeling Whiskey launches in Hong Kong

A wonderful thing happened in Hong Kong in late 2015 - something sure to excite many whisky (or more appropriately, whiskey) drinkers. Teeling Whiskey found a distributor, in Summergate Fine Wines & Spirits, making the core range officially available in Hong Kong.

We've written on many occasions about our love of Teeling Whiskey, which stems from a handful of reasons:

• It's interesting - such unique cask finishes and maturation techniques are not often seen in such an accessible lineup of whiskies
• It's excellent value - especially when you consider even the cheapest releases are NCF and bottled at 46% ABV.
• It's brought excitement to Irish Whiskey as a category (and, it seems, kicked off something of an Irish Whiskey revival)
• ...and most importantly, it's just really good whisky. From the very drinkable "Small Batch" to the brilliant 21yo, and 21-23yo single casks bottled for the Japanese market (do yourself a favour and try one if you ever get the chance - we've tried a few and they've all been incredible).

We shared a few bottles (kindly provided by Teeling in Australia) with a group of Hong Kong whisky fans over the past 12 months, and reports were all very positive, so we're excited to see it now readily available throughout Hong Kong.

To celebrate the launch, Teeling's Asia Pacific brand ambassador Martin Lynch visited Hong Kong, for a lunch (held at one of our favourite bars - The Envoy) followed by a tasting with the Consul General of Ireland to Hong Kong & Macau - the very hospitable Peter Ryan.

The events introduced a group of Hong Kongers (including a few Irish ex-pats) to the core lineup - the Small Batch (tasting notes here), Single Grain (tasting notes here) and Single Malt (tasting notes here). At $380HKD, $630HKD and $750HKD respectively (retail prices), the range is very competitively priced (especially when you consider Hong Kong's 100% tax).

At the Consulate General event, Martin talked us through Teeling's history, philosophy, and took us on a a guided tasting, while Peter explained the importance of Irish Whiskey as a category, and introduced us to the new Irish Whiskey Society of Hong Kong.

Afterwards, we all enjoyed a few more drams, nibbled on some excellent Irish produce (cheese, beef, salmon and "Tayto" crisps), and enjoyed a few craft Irish beers, while the braver amongst us sampled the corn and malt-based, unaged, 61.5% ABV "Poitin" (not yet available in Hong Kong). For what you could almost consider to be akin to an unaged, high-proof Bourbon, it was quite smooth and enjoyable.

We're glad to see Teeling has officially made its way to Hong Kong, and can't wait to see what other releases Summergate have in store for us.

Cheers,

Martin.

Teeling Whisky range expands in Australia - Silver Reserve 21yo and Single Malt launched (Tasted #201-202)

We've gushed about Teeling Whiskey Co once or twice (actually a lot more) on this blog, and with good reason - it's the first Irish whiskey that's genuinely gotten us excited about, well, Irish whiskey. Not just because everything they've released so far is:

1. Extremely high quality; and
2. Incredibly good value

..but also because of their interesting use of different finishes. With their core lineup consisting of whisky finished in Flor de Caña rum casks, Sauternes casks, Californian cab sauv casks, and the new (to Australia) Single Malt which receives finishing in five different wine casks, this isn't your ordinary distillery pumping out nothing but Bourbon and Sherry-aged stock.

Now, fancy finishes are all well and good, but they really only matter if the end product is good...and with Teeling, it really is. Their Single Grain is a whiskey I'd happily sip every day, and costs a meager $59.90AUD (not yet available in HK, though that may well change soon). Their "Small Batch" (which we first tried back in 2013) is probably one of the best value whiskies you can find for $52.99AUD, and their 21 year old single malt, well....wow. See our thoughts below.

A trade launch was held in Australia on Monday night, coinciding with the Australian launch of the 21yo ($199.99AUD) and the Single Malt ($79.99AUD). They join the Small Batch and Single Grain which we've previously tried (here and here).

So what makes the Single Malt and 21yo so interesting? As mentioned above, the Single Malt is finished in 5 different wine casks (Sherry, Port, Madeira, White Burgundy and Cabernet Sauvignon) and despite being an NAS whiskey, features malt barrelled in 1991.

The "Silver Reserve" 21yo Single Malt (which contains a small amount of lightly peated malt) was aged for 20 years in Bourbon, before undergoing a 1 year finishing in Sauternes (and we do love a good Sauternes-finished whisky here). Both whiskies (in fact, the whole range) are bottled at a very respectable 46%, are non-chill filtered, and have recently won the "Worlds Best Irish Single Malt" awards at the WWA (the 21yo 2014 and the Single Malt in 2015)

So....our thoughts? Read on...

Teeling Whisky Company Single Malt Irish Whiskey (46% ABV, NAS, Dublin Ireland, $79.99AUD)
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Colour: Golden copper.

Nose: Rich and fruity. Some lighter sherry-style notes (Christmas cake, raisings), but also some fresh grapes and even some strawberries.

Palate: Slight citrus zest at first, quickly developing into a bold, almost meaty palate. Definite berries on the palate too - raspberries I'd say.

Finish: Medium to long, with sweet red berries, fruit cake and a hint of masala-chai.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100.

Teeling Whisky "Silver Reserve" 21yo Single Malt Whiskey (46% ABV, NAS, Dublin Ireland, $199.99AUD)
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Colour: Dark orange copper.

Nose: Massive fruity bouquet. Tropical notes - passionfruit, some cashew, caramel sauce and pineapple sorbet.

Palate: Fruit but with a hint of spice. Sweet pineapple runs throughout, with a moreish nuttiness initially, leading into stronger, spicier notes - almost Tobasco-sauce like.

Finish: Long, lush and sweet. The tropical fruitiness lingers, and is accompanied by some whipped cream at the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 94/100.
In one sentence: "Like a Hawaiian pizza with a hint of Tobasco sauce, followed up by a tropical fruit salad for dessert. Magic." 

Cheers,
Martin.

This week in whisk(e)y #20 - Teeling Whiskey, Boilermaker House, a newway to try Whisky in Australia, Ardbeg Space Aged Tour and TheGlenlivet Founder's Reserve

As you might know if you read this blog regularly, we get a fair few interesting press releases and news articles here at TimeforWhisky, and usually try to feature them with our own spin, experiences or comments. Sometimes though, they come thick and fast, and we just don't have time to do them all justice.

So we've decided to take a leaf out of some other excellent whisky blogs, and feature a "PR roundup" every now and then - basically a wrap-up of relevant press releases we've received in the previous week or so (including other interesting whisk(e)y news Steph, Hendy & or I think you might enjoy). So on with it then...

Teeling Whiskey Distillery officially opens its doors
We've talked about Teeling Whiskey a bit on this site in the past, and found it to be extraordinarily good value, and a perfect example of a "new age" of Irish whiskey distillers (although the company is also selling aged expressions from a previous era of the distillery).

To firmly establish themselves as a distillery that's in it for the long haul, TWC have recently opened a brand new distillery - the first in the city of Dublin for 125 years.

Quoting the press release:

"The Teeling Whiskey Company (TWC) today officially opened its brand new distillery and visitor centre in The Liberties, Dublin. The €10 million distillery is the first in Dublin in over 125 years and the only fully operational distillery in the city at present.

As well as fully functioning distillery, there is a state-of-the-art visitor centre which will host whiskey tasting tours, a café, a bar, a private event space for hire and a gift shop. The visitor centre will officially start taking paying visitors from Saturday, 13th June and will be open from 9.30am - 5.30pm 7 days a week. 

Founded by Jack Teeling in 2012, TWC was set up to revive his family-old trademark of Irish whiskey and bring distilling back to Dublin, where Walter Teeling had a distillery on Marrowbone Lane in the 18th century.  The Teeling Whiskey Company is run by Jack together with his brother Stephen.

The opening of this new distillery means that TWC has complete control of all aspects of its whiskey production, from grain to bottle, so that it can truly lead the category in terms of innovation and build on the company’s ever growing reputation of producing some of the world’s best whiskeys. Most recently, Teeling Single Malt was named ‘World’s Best’ at the 2015 World Whiskies Awards and Teeing Small Batch was awarded ‘Best Blended Irish Whiskey’ at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Irish whiskey is currently experiencing a surge in popularity both at home and abroad and is the fastest growing spirits category in the world. According to an IWSR/Just drinks report*, Irish whiskey is expected to grow by +60% between 2014 and 2019 and it is estimated that 96m bottles of Irish whiskey will be sold globally by 2016.

Jack Teeling, founder and managing director of the Teeling Whiskey Company commented: “Today is a momentous day in the history of our company and something we have been working towards for the last three years. We are delighted to officially open our brand new distillery and bring back the tradition of distilling to Dublin.  We are also looking forward to opening our doors to our first official visitors this weekend and we’re confident that our distillery will become a must-visit destination for tourists to Dublin from all over the world."

For more on the Teeling Whiskey Company and its award winning Irish Whiskeys, visit www.TeelingWhiskey.com"

Boilermaker House opens in Melbourne
We've always been big fans of Sydney's Eau de Vie bar, their sister bar in Melbourne, and in fact most of what Sven Almenning and his team have come up with over the years (including their partnership with Bakery Hill,  their pre-batched cocktails and their own Smoked Bacon Bourbon). So although we haven't been yet, we have no doubt that the latest venture, Boilermaker House in Melbourne's CBD, will be a huge success. With almost 700 whiskies, 12 craft beers on tap and good as well, how could it not be?
As the bar claims....

"Boilermaker House is a whisky and craft beer venue that serves up Eau de Vie standard cocktails, dinner until late and also boasts a meat and cheese bar, all of which are open to 3am every day. WIN!

We have close to 700 whiskies from all over the world on the back bar, 12 craft beers on tap, and another 30 odd in the fridge. And with over 40 varieties of cured meat & cheese, the combinations are endless.

We're open 7days from 5pm, and Thursday to Sunday you can also check us out for lunch from midday."

Boilermaker House is open now and can be found at 209 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.



TheWhiskyOrder.com.au - a new way to try whisky in Australia
Whilst we're not affiliated with this business, nor do we have any commercial interests in the Australian (or HK) whisky scene whatsoever, we do appreciate new or different approaches to whisky appreciation, and one such recent example from Australia is TheWhiskyOrder.com.au, who are offering subscription-based taster packs to open Aussies to new and interesting whisky expressions they otherwise might not get to try.In Steve (the founder's) own words:

The Whisky Order is a whisky sample subscription box that sends out 4-5 unique samples each month. Each month is themed (e.g.; world whisk(e)y, peaty monsters, sherry bomb) and a range of whisky is chosen to give each subscriber an overview of the taste spectrum.

I get a nice tasting mat made each month and try to include as much as possible in the little parcels of whisky goodness. For example last month I worked with Mornington Peninsula chocolates to do a taste paring with some nice chocolates that were included for each subscriber.

www.thewhiskyorder.com.au is the address and they ship Australia-wide.

Ardbeg Space Aged Tour
The Ardbeg team have done it again in pushing the innovation boundaries. A slightly different twist this time around with the preview of a space-aged whisky. Supposedly, after NASA heard about Ardbeg's Supernova, they sent a note to Ardbeg to see if aging whisky in space is an idea worth exploring.

So why send a whisky to space? Apparently to study the effects of maturation in zero gravity.. and also to celebrate the fact that Ardbeg can! David White, International Director of Ardbeg & Glenmorangie explained that the maturation experiment also allowed the study of zero-gravity on whisky terpenes. Dr Bill Lumsden, Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation and Whisky Stocks, who led the research explains:

“Ardbeg is known for taking risks in its development of some of the most coveted whiskies in the world, so it is fitting that it is the first Distillery ever to go into space. We are now close to finding answers to something previously unknown which is truly exciting. We hope to shine new light on the effect of gravity on the maturation process and are very excited to bring the Ardbeg Space Aged Tour to Australia, as one of only ten countries around the world”

The vial of Ardbeg has made its way to space from Kazakhstan, aboard the International Space Station (ISS) from 2011 through to 12th September 2014, spending roughly 3 years in zero-gravity orbit.

Quite a young whisky indeed spending with only a mere three years in zero-gravity maturation though this youngster will be one of the most (if not the most) expensive Ardbeg at €10,000 just for the vial (and that's only for the starting bid for the auction of this space aged vial).

This vial, along with its unique, floating ‘zero-gravity’ display case will be exhibited at Dan Murphy’s, Double Bay NSW through to 16th July 2015. 

The Glenlivet Founder's Reserve

The Glenlivet Founder's Reserve has arrived in Australia and will set to replace the ever-popular and classic Glenlivet 12yo.

Hendy was fortunate enough to attend the launch of this new expression and he will be posting up his thoughts on the Founder's Reserve in the next few weeks. Until then, here's a bit of info on the new expression:

The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve launched in Australia on 1 July 2015, and will become the new, permanent benchmark expression in the brand’s core range.  It has been created as the ultimate tribute to founder George Smith’s original vision to craft the definitive, smooth single malt whisky. The announcement has come in the wake of an unparalleled year of growth for the brand, with new expressions and continued innovation underpinning its success. According to Anne Martin, Marketing Director for Pernod Ricard Australia, “Founder’s Reserve brings to life the heart and soul of The Glenlivet. We are very proud to introduce this new expression during what has been an incredible twelve months for the brand, which will enable us to meet increased demand for super-premium spirits with something unique to offer. The Glenlivet has the largest share of the Australian Single Malt Market, at 26 per cent*.” With Founder’s Reserve, The Glenlivet house style is skilfully complemented with a creaminess and sweetness from the addition of First Fill American oak casks, resulting in a malt of exceptional smoothness; the very quality for which George Smith’s The Glenlivet was widely admired and appreciated in his day. 

The introduction of Founder’s Reserve follows on from the recent historic release of The Glenlivet Winchester Collection, the world’s first collection of 50 Year Old single malt Scotch whiskies. Launched in Australia in October 2014, the collection is anticipated to become one of the most sought after and priceless whisky collections in the world and epitomises the brand’s commitment to innovation in crafted Scotch whisky. 

This newly launched Glenlivet Founder's Resrve will be available in Australia starting from this month, for A$64.99.

Until next time...

Cheers,

Martin & Hendy.