Thursday, June 16, 2016

60,000 Tourists Can't Be Wrong: Visit 'Teeling Irish Whiskey': Dublin's Newest Tourist Attraction by Philip S. Kampe



       





A friend of mine just returned from Dublin and was totally enthusiastic about, not his vacation, but, his tour of the Teeling Distillery in Dublin. He said that the distillery opened their doors to the public about a year ago (June 2015).

Teeling is Dublin’s only whiskey distillery and the only distillery in all of Ireland that permits tours. After whiskeys resurgence ten to fifteen years ago and with the onslaught of tourism, it was obvious that the public had interest, not only to visit whiskey museums, but, also distilleries. Scotland has proven the fact that ‘whiskey tourism’ is alive, as had Kentucky and Tennessee years before.

It was no easy task for Teeling to set-up the distillery.  With tourists in mind and Irish laws to abide to, Teeling eventually accomplished the task and in June, 2015, they opened their doors to the public.

Today, Teeling is the talk of Dublin.

Newly released figures reveal that in the past year, 60,000 visitors came to the newly named ‘World’s Best Whiskey Visitors Attraction.’ 

The Teeling vision came from brothers Jack and Stephen Teeling. Their goal was to bring back the tradition of distilling back to Dublin, where their ancestor, Walter Teeling had a distillery in the 18th century.

It is by no accident that Teeling is the fastest growing brand in Ireland.

Teeling distills a series or small collection of whiskeys, aptly titled, ‘The Spirit of Dublin.’


The ‘Single Malt’, ‘Single Grain’ and the ‘Small Batch’ were the three I sampled. Here are my observations.

’The Spirit of Dublin’  Single Grain
Alcohol: 46% with no chill filtration
Matured: 5 years in California red wine casks
Bottled: October, 2014
Crafted by: Jack Teeling
Awards: ‘World’s Best Grain’ at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards
Tasting Notes: Concentrated dark fruit, specifically raspberries and blueberries mix delicately with Asian spice on the palate, while a long, tannic finish dominated by spicy oak remains on the palate indefinitely.

’The Spirit of Dublin’  Single Malt
Alcohol: 46%
100% Malted Barley
Matured: 5 different wine casks: Sherry, Port, Madeira, White Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon
Filtering: Non Chill filtration
Bottled: April, 2015
Crafted by: Jack Teeling
Tasting Notes: The casks help create a fig, date, toffee aroma, while the palate is bathed in vanilla, spice, white pepper and nutmeg creating a harmonious soft, sweet finish.

’The Spirit of Dublin’  Small Batch
Alcohol: 46%
Matured: Casks finish their maturing in ex-rum barrels
Filtering: Non chill filtration
Bottled: September, 2014
Crafted by: Jack Teeling
Awards: 2015 Double Gold San Francisco; Gold Medal/Irish Whiskey Masters
Tasting Notes: Aromatics of sweet rum and vanilla converge on the palate and create a complete Irish Whiskey experience. Smooth, silky and seductive, the ‘Small Batch’ is as alluring as an Irish whiskey can be.




If you plan on visiting Dublin and want to make Teeling one of your stops, go to their website to learn about tours, as well as the company:www.TeelingDistillery.com



Philip S. Kampe
philip.kampe@thewinehub.com




                                   


No comments:

40 Years of Winemaking at Russian River Valleys Sonoma-Cutrer by Philip S. Kampe

 Innovation in Winemaking at Sonoma-Cutrer began forty years ago. The focus has always been innovation for this Russian River Valley winery....