Once upon a time, not too long ago, I found myself joining my fellow road ragers on a quest to see who could get home the fastest. My reason for speeding down the highway? Another round of great new releases by Teeling Whiskey.
On Tuesday the 6th of October, Teeling released their latest whiskey edition called Blackpitts. What's so special about it? Oh honey! It is the first Triple Distilled Peated
Single Malt out of Dublin.
I knew I couldn't miss the opportunity to be part of a masterclass specifically facilitated for the Dutch market and I received a lovely package that not only contained a branded face mask but also three bottles of these lovely drams.
None other than European brand ambassador Chris Hayes and the ever lovely Niamh o'Connor facilitated our Masterclass that evening and I would have loved to be right there with them. The lockdowns across the globe however are still causing mayhem and so this was a virtual meeting that left me amazed and in love. Three whiskies, three beautiful descriptions, a great group of specialists and one very happy Gemma.
Teeling Pineapple Rum Cask
The first whiskey we tried was called the Pineapple rum cask and it was very gentle, fruity and flavorful on the nose. Because of the rum cask influence, the flavour of this whiskey is excellent on its own but could very easily be used in tropical cocktails. On the nose you discover hints of bananas and tropical fruit, as well as a little bit of spice. Those lovely citrusy sweet notes came through on the palate and this whiskey had a medium length finish. I thoroughly enjoyed this first whiskey and it was on its way to be my favorite of the evening until I tried the next.
Renaissance 2
The Renaissance 2 18 years old just hit me with joy because the very first thing that I got on the nose was something that reminded me of a very popular popsicle here in the Netherlands which is made out of pears - Perenijsjes, for the Dutchies out there. I got a nose full of pears and a craving for popsicles of course. On the palate this whiskey was floral and there was a nice amount of citrus coming through for me. There is this sweetness that reminds me of a Danish or a brioche and no matter how much I love the Pineapple rum cask, the Renaissance 2 turned out to be the absolute winner of the night.
Blackpitts
The pièce de résistance, the whiskey we'd all been waiting for. Teeling's Blackpitts - named after the old Blackpitts area just behind the new Teeling Whiskey Distillery, this whiskey was matured on ex-bourbon and ex-Sauternes white wine casks. When I first saw the label, I had an idea of what this whisky was going to be like but boy was I wrong (in a good way!).
Firstly you're met with this beautifully sweet, smokey scent but after a while I felt it was more like roasted fish and that sugary sweetness from confectionery sweets, the ones your grandma used to carry in a tin in her purse. The palate was filled with dried fruit and not as heavily peated as I was expecting. Again I found those traces of dried fruits and grapes as well as this lovely, slightly savory undertone. To me this whiskey had a medium to long finish with beautiful soft sweets notes such as vanilla and fudge.
I think this was an incredible masterclass and I would love to do this again in the future. I love how Teeling keep innovating and developing their lines, complementing their core range with new, unique whiskies. If you've not had in Irish whiskey before then I think that this is definitely a brand you need to start with. Teeling is just one of those Irish whiskies that belongs in the cabinet of a true whiskey lover.
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