Reviews of affordable whiskies with some entertaining tales along the way…
Teeling Distillery was established in Dublin in 2015. Founders Jack and Stephen Teeling previously worked at Cooley, under their father, John – the man many people credit with kickstarting the current resurgence in the fortunes of Irish Whiskey. Like most Irish whiskey, Teeling is usually unpeated, but Blackpitts is something a little different. It’s named after an area of Dublin that sits behind the Liberties, where Teeling Distillery resides. Blackpitts was associated with industrial pursuits and was home to several malting houses. The Teeling Blackpitts whiskey is a triple-distilled single malt, made with peated malt. The spirit was matured in ex-Bourbon and ex-Sauternes casks before being bottled at 46% without chill-filtering. It retails for around £54.
*Full disclosure: the sample featured in this article came in an Advent Calendar that I was sent for free. As always, I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.
Smell: It’s rather grain-forward. Lots of maltiness. Baking bread. Some fudge and tablet. Fresh lemon juice. Wee touch of lime. Pineapple. Wee bit of pepper. There really isn’t a lot of smoke, only a few gentle wisps in the background.
Taste: Creamy malt. Orange peel and toffee. Honey and cinnamon. Pepper. Citrus oak and tingly wood spice along with some subtle barbecue ash on the finish.
Thoughts: The overall sensation is that of a rather gentle whiskey. In truth, I didn’t get much from the peat at all. Certainly, you’d expect triple distillation to concentrate the lighter flavours, in detriment to the earthier peat notes but to my palate, the smoke is so light it’s almost non-existent. In fairness, there’s no information regarding the peating level of the barley pre-distillation so perhaps I was wrong to expect more. In any case, I doubt many Teeling regulars would be all that enamoured with a big blast of smoke in their dram. Peat or no peat, it’s a pleasant enough dram just a little light for my personal tastes.
Price: £54. By no means an excessive price but while I enjoyed my sample well enough, I didn’t really find an awful lot that would have me rushing out to spend £50 on a full bottle.
For more on Teeling visit here: https://www.teelingwhiskey.com/