Teeling 21 Year Old Rising Reserve No. 03

THE HOLY SPIRITS VIEW
An Irish single malt with real age behind it: eighteen years in ex-bourbon casks before three more in ruby Port, which is a long, patient base for a finish to work on. The third release in Teeling’s Rising Reserve series, limited to 6,000 bottles. Port finishes are common, but ones this old and this restrained are not.
 
THE DISTILLERY
Teeling traces its roots to 1782, when Walter Teeling set up a distillery on Marrowbone Lane in Dublin’s Liberties. The family name faded from Irish whiskey, until brothers Jack and Stephen Teeling relaunched it in 2012. The phoenix rising from a pot still on the label says it all.
 
THE WHISKY: 21 YEAR OLD, RISING RESERVE NO. 3
Single malt matured eighteen years in ex-bourbon barrels, then finished for three years in ruby Port casks. Bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill filtered, limited to 6,000 bottles.
 
TASTING NOTES
Soft, mellow sweetness first, caramel, red fruits, ripe cherry, a hint of sandalwood. Plum and jammy vinous fruit builds with air, vanilla and butterscotch holding the core, orchard fruit tucked underneath. Palate velvety, full-bodied, milk chocolate, brown sugar, dark fruit, a thread of oak spice running through. The Port adds richness without drowning the bourbon-cask sweetness. Finish long, rounded, spice fading slowly. Gorgeous balance, nothing overdone.
 
Serve: Neat, in a Glencairn glass. Good after dinner with dark chocolate.