Teeling: Stout Cask (Irish Blended Whiskey: 46% ABV)
Visual: Clear golden touched grain color with fast thick streaks from the spirit.
Nose: Honey. Strong alcohol. Lime touches. Thick chocolate. Crushed palma violets. Caramel. Raisins. Raspberry yogurt. Spicy rum. Coffee. Water adds slight menthol note.
Body: Smooth. Caramel. Port. Cherries. Honey. Smooth chocolate liqueure. Chocolate toffee. Water adds grapes, spiced orange and cake sponge. Smoother chocolate. Praline.
Finish: Chocolate. Fudge. Trifle. Sherry. Cherries. Light oak. Milk coffee. Water adds praline and nuts.
Conclusion: So, this is the second stout aged whiskey I have tried in recent weeks, and damn this is bloody lovely. I think that this has still had rum ageing, and that may be part of what makes it so great. I’m not sure if it is that, the slightly higher abv, or what, but this has much stronger whiskey style at the base that the stout has just added to rather than being dominated by the stout. That extra bit of character from the whiskey means this is far more complex that the already nice Jamerson’s stout aged expression I tried, and this all just comes together for something special.
Up front it is honey sweet, with raisins and spicy fortified wine notes that are very recognisable as Teelings. It is a tad strong in the alcohol neat. But that is very easily soothed over with a few drops of water.
Behind that is a very smooth chocolate liqueur character – very stout like, especially the sweeter of the imperial stout takes. I’ve seen chocolate notes in whisky before, but never so clearly used in counterpoint to the sweeter, lighter main whiskey,.
It’s wonderful – easy drinking despite the slightly higher alcohol strength, even with the slight rougher elements neat, and that is perfectly sorted with a drop of water. There is that wonderful Irish whiskey smoothness and honey sweetness, but the multiple unusual barrel ageings lets it run the range from light Irish citrus notes, spicy rum notes and the dark chocolate stout notes. The spicy rum works well, with the stout it create a real rum barrel aged imperial stout character, and definitely shows the spicy extra character to the main whiskey. It feels like those rum notes act as a stepping stone between the two sides of the whisky – making what could be separate quality Irish whiskey and stout elements become a smooth progression of flavours.
Sp. basically you get the smoothness of a good Irish whiskey, the complexity more associated with the Scottish whisky from the barrel ageing, and together it works so well.
Not stupidly expensive, very high quality, highly recommended.
Background: So, I’ve enjoyed past experience with the Teeling range of whiskeys – and this one caught my eye as something a bit different – from a quick google it starts with Teeling Small Batch as the base, Irish Whiskey that has been finished in rum casks. Some casks that had been used for aging Teeling Small batch were given to Galway to age Galway Bay 200 Fathoms Imperial Stout beer in. These casks were then given back to Teeling and Teeling Small Batch whiskey was then put back in for a final finish to gain notes from the Imperial Stout. Whew. Think I got that right. Anyway, did notes on this after seeing Epic Beard Men live, so was listening to their new album “Season 1” which you can download free from – http://epicbeardmen.com/. I’m a big fan of B. Dolan, and his work with Sage Francis here makes for some tight tunes. This whiskey was another one grabbed at Independent Spirit.
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