I've Got a Teeling (Woo Woo)

 You'll have noticed fewer posts on here recently and perhaps you're missing regular whiskey reviews? Fear not as (along with this post) another two whisky tastings are coming up before Christmas. Despite living in Ireland I've tried very few Irish Whiskeys (Bushmills, Jamesons and Connemara). This is something I shall need to rectify in the next few years as there's a new wave of distillers coming online, especially if they produce anything anywhere near the standard of last night's whiskey. 

The whiskey in question is the new single malt from Teeling, a new Dublin based distiller. This particular whiskey bears no age statement but its component parts are well travelled having spent time in five different casks: Sherry, Port, Madeira, Cabernet Sauvignon and White Burgundy* and are up to 23 years old.  These have come together to produce an excellent sipping whiskey (46%, non chill-filtered) at a very reasonable price (Just under £40/ €50).

It pours an attractive pale copper, with fairly viscous alcohol legs up the sides of the glass. On the nose at first fruity oaky some butterscotch up front with an underlying Turkish delight and peppery notes.

On warming it starts to gain some melon and banoffee pie hints, its a complex beast! The same is true in the mouth really full bodied, with sweet sultanas, meaty sherry like umami notes, sandalwood, caramel, butter, a growing saffron spiciness and of course vanilla notes from the wood. Its fairly fiery and warming, but as your palate acclimatises blueberry becomes the overwhelming note, with underlying mango. This multifaceted character helps to keep the whiskey interesting from first to last sip. Don't bother adding water to this one, it just dumbs it all down to blandness, its great as it is!

 

Thanks to Steve as always for organising and Stephen Teeling for the sample. If you're down in Dublin there's a Teeling Tasting in the Norseman on Friday. The distillery should be open to the public from Mid-April next year, I for one am looking forward to visiting to see those shiny new copper stills! Cheers All and Slainte!

Teeling Whiskey

Facebook

 *I'd love to try those constituent parts Stephen if you're reading!

Whisky in high places: Arran tweet tasting

Time for some island whisky's again brought to me (and therefore you in words and pics) courtesy of Steve Rush at the Whisky Wire in the form of a Tweet Tasting. This time we get to spend some time with relative newcomer Arran distillery.* Four whisky's of varying ages and strengths, the free keyring and "Enjoy!" label were a nice touch & great size samples...if I'd been more organised I could have invited others around to join the tasting, still plenty left too! So without further ado...the thoughts.

The regular 10 year Old was up first. To me this felt slightly young or perhaps the wood used had an effect but there's fairly fresh woody aftershave up f forest glades, cobwebbed sheds musty apple lofts on the nose Its fairly fiery, sweet, peppery perhaps. A touch of water brings out spicy sandalwood. Fairly dry with woody spice. Not one I'll drink again soon.

Much more complex on the nose the 14 y/o (also 46%) Pearskin, vanilla, cardamom, freshly made paper. Finishing in sherry and bourbon brought a good range of flavours to the table. Its quite subtle - handled well it'd make a nuanced cocktail. Much gentler to taste than the 10 y/o, more rounded rich grape flavours, vanilla but still plenty of fire & oaky swwetness followed by fruity pear. Adding water brings out honey drenched egg custard tart with a subtle orange blossom water finish, nice. Available for a not unreasonable £40 at MoM (with free glass!).

The 12 y/o cask strength (53.9%) is completely different, robust earthy spices,meaty umami notes - could be the 100% sherry hogshead aging. Juniper berries & sea salt encrusted old tarpaulin appear on airing. A rich velvet mouthfeel, plenty of heat, some lemon pith, more of that meaty note from the nose. Rich sweet deep woodiness,leather as it opens up that apple strudel others got on the nose comes through, especially sultanas. Its complex but ultimately rewarding.£50.55 @MoM

The new millennium cask release 53.5% is fairly subtle on the nose, sweet crème caramel and white pepper. Pretty fiery adding water really opens up the nose...Turkish delight, rosewater and oak smoke. Perhaps slightly pricey at £70

 
A really interesting range of similar but different whiskys, the14 y/o pips 12/yo cask strength to the post for me,with millennium cask worth a taste but I was't keen on the 10 year old. Thanks as always to Steve for organising and Arran for the freebies!

But that's not the end of the post. Whilst we're in an Arran frame of mind its time I opened my Brewdog Arran aged Paradox. Its a bruiser of a beer at 15%. Dark ebony brown with Orange tan head. Sweet caramel, vanilla and booze on the nose which I recognise from the whisky. Sweet vanilla, umami, full bodied, medium carbonation. Quite alcoholic but well done.A good digestif!

*Arran being thought to mean "high place"...hence the post title

Liquid Americana Whisky tasting

My third whisky tweet tasting experience was something a little different from the previous two: not only were the 5 samples on offer American in origin, they were also unknowns. I don't know much about American whisky anyway; so the evening was a great learning experience. Whiskys were provided by Arkwrights and as ever compèred by taster supremo Steve,cheers guys! Review after the group shot.

First up was a weighty perfumey jasmine rice and coconut milk number that was quite boozy with an interesting Parma Violets finish. it tasted like a fiery sweet potato until doused with a splash of water, allowing spicy wood, mashing barley and vanilla to come to the fore. I wasn't all too impressed but suggested it as a cocktail base, which got some nods of approval. Turns out this one is a bourbon, Elijah Craig 12 y/o, available for a reasonable £31.50.

Moving on swiftly we reached an elevenses whisky, spicy Seville marmalade on wheaten bread. It tasted completely different - BBQ'd pineapple with black pepper, heavy on the char and an oily textured finish with oriental spiced nuts. This whisky is another bourbon and the priciest at £54 - Noah's Mill.

Third up was actually my favourite of the evening, much gentler on the nose with strawberries, turkish delight and candied angelica. Lighter in body and finishing sweet, this is the only one that didn't need the additional water. A novelty this one being a wheat whisky it turns out, Bernheim original £52.25 though I probably wouldn't splash out for the bottle when a Speyside would do it for cheaper.

A bargain at £23.50!

The penultimate whisky offered up a smorgasbord of healthy fruits including satsuma, peaches and blueberries, liberally drizzled with honey. Towards the back was a brooding slightly smoky meaty note. In the mouth was coriander seed, cardboard, oak smoked ham and a lot of cereal...so much so that I guessed this was a grain whisky...wrong again! Rye this time, Pikesville to be precise and at a bargainous £23.50 I'm considering picking up a bottle to work through the various rye cocktail recipes I'm dying to try.

We finished up with a whisky of intriguing nose, peppermint, turps and almonds finishing quite fiery with a whack of booze. After adding a touch of water geraniums and orange flower water became apparent on the nose, very full in body though perhaps lacking in subtlety of flavour. This was High West Double Rye, so called as it is a blend of two straight rye whiskys.

So an interesting experience, but helped to confirm my suspicions that I am a Scotch malt man rather than a whiskey man. Thanks to Arkwrights for providing the samples, if you fancy trying them at home they're available through Arkwrights for £16.75, that's less than £3.40 a double stats fans! Follow the nights' shenanigans on #LiquidAmericana.

Jura turns 50

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Jura distillery,  this week being the Fèis Ile whisky celebrations. Today sees the distillery open day, with plenty of tutored tasting sessions, live music and other goodies. I managed to get in on the action from here in Northern Ireland by signing up to a tweet tasting with the Whisky Wire(thanks for the tip off Pete (drinks)!)

There have been distilleries on Jura for almost 200 years, but the current incarnation of Jura distillery dates back to 1963 when architect William Delme-Evans designed the "unusually large" stills that give the whisky its light character.

I'm fairly familiar with Jura, having visited them on my Islay tour last year. Five whiskys this time

 Turas Mara is a new addition to their core range but available only at certain travel retail outfits
. Fittingly the translation is "long journey" and it has been aged in bourbon casks from the USA alongside others from Spain, France and Portugal (I'd assume sherry, brandy and port, but could be wrong). As confirmed by Steve its Spanish sherry butts, French oak barriques & Portuguese port pipes. It's also named for a poem written by former Duirach* Jessie Scott, with her own departure point marked by a plaque on the beach.

At 42% its pretty close to the usual dilution mark of 40% and an attractive mid-golden-blonde colour. On the nose its spicy and boozy with caramel sweetness and some fruity port (?) notes. Its quite sweet with blackcurrant, toffee and a long rich finish.

Adding in some water brought out orange peel plus an earthy spicy quality, cardamom perhaps bringing to mind an imperial wit beer on the nose. The whisky warmth increases in taste and some woody, slightly oxidised cardboard notes appear, that I'm not all that keen on.

With the remainder of the sample I mixed a micro-rob roy, 10ml of vermouth rosso and a generous dash of angostura bitters, stirred over ice. That's a nice way to have it.

Well worth a look in but drink it undiluted!

From jurainfo.com

Another new addition to the range is the 30 year old, bottled at 44% ABV. This spent the latter three years of its ageing process in Gonzalez Byass Olorosso Butts. Named Camas an Staca for the largest of 8 standing stones on the island, this whisky is just a fraction of the age of the stones (estimated at 3000years).

An attractive burnished gold this fella. Nose redolent of a walk in a damp woodland, with some butterscotch notes, quite hot and boozy up front but a lovely woody spiciness and some vanillins and weirdly baked ham after that initial alcohol has subsided.

A splash of water really rounds out the mouthfeel and releases a cloud of peaches and cream to the flavour. The reminds on a sweet shop/ nail bar with sticky pear drops and a hint of nail varnish alongside vanilla and juicy stewed fruits. Its a fantastic drop of whisky, but one I'm unlikely to try again due to its £350 price tag!

From Edinburghwhiskyblog.com

The 1977 vintage is named Juar, Gaelic for Yew Tree symbolising immortality and rebirth. The whisky comes from three bourbon barrels finished for a year in a ruby port pipe. 498 bottles @ 46%ABV were released for this one. It pours fairly pale gold with black pepper and burnt paper on the nose on swirling there's some almond and floral notes. A really interesting burst of fruit in the mouth at first, sweet raspberries and peaches, followed by plenty of alcohol warmth, finishing with some golden syrup and meaty umami notes.
Adding water reduces the fruit and brings out the porridgey nose of a whisky mash accompanied by Christmas cake spices. To taste its a different beast, the fieriness has been tamed revealing a hidden sweet core, well rounded and enjoyable.

From abbeywhisky.com

Delme-Evans was the famed architect that resurrected the distillery in 1963, and a cask strength whisky was released in his honour. A 1988 distillation cask number 1796 was re-racked into olorosso sherry before being released as 586 bottles. It sold out quickly, but a few bottles were retained for tasting and that's what we're privileged to try here.

Another mid-gold pour here with a rich savoury umami nose balanced by undercurrents of geraniums. Its sweet and warming with washed rind cheese, sherry flavours, oak and furniture polish. Adding water to it brings cherry stones, lots of alcohol, spent grains, and sawdust to the nose. Rich parmesan, sea salt and iodine flavours. Still fairly strong to taste and the sherry is right up making itself known. Certainly a sipper but you're rewarded by a long sweet heather honey finish with some green apple notes.

Final whisky to write about is the oldest, soon to be the new 40 year old bottling but currently 39 3/4 years old. As its not being released until 2014, there are no bottle pictures yet! Its a hefty 51.4% matured in sherry and finished in amoroso sherry for a year.
This is a gorgeous dark ruby gold with rummy molasses, strong solvent, weet-a-bix and a big boozy punch here. Very high alcohol with long legs, evaporates off the tongue, strong alcohol, marmite umami, fairly mouth puckering astringency, tannins and plenty of sherry character, a bit of a challenge. No hiding that sherry influence at all here.
With water its still fairly alcoholic but theres smokey campfire, some peaty phenols and tangerine pith. The flavour is completely subdued, but allows it to evolve instead of being overwhelmed by alcohol. Its a seaside barbecue seaspray and smoke. Takes some getting used to but ultimately rewarding.

A completely varied bunch showing how age and different finishes can really change the character of  whisky. For me the Juar was the most enjoyable, though the Delme Evans certainly challenged my perceptions of whisky!
 

Thanks a lot to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire for organising this tasting, its been great fun and tasty too of course. Thanks to Jura @Jura_Whisky for the samples, I hope to visit you guys again soon as my Duirach's own is running low!

*Duirach: a resident of Jura. You can sign up to become an honourary Duirach on Jura distillery website, entitling you to a free dram and reduced ferry fare.