We’ve written about the rise, fall and rebirth of Irish whiskey at length over the years. It’s a topic that has always interested our readership as well as our editorial staff. The history is a rollercoaster of successes, failures, and being taxed almost to the point of extinction. Today the Irish whiskey category is experiencing a period of resurgence exhibited by a healthy rise in Irish whiskey’s global market value of approximately $2 billion in 2013 to $5.1 billion in 2023. More telling is the growth of operating distilleries in Ireland, from a handful in 2013 to 47 at the time of this tasting.
One of the distilleries built during that stretch was the Teeling Whiskey Distillery, which opened in 2015 in Dublin. But that’s only the latest chapter in this family’s distilling history, which like the country’s whiskey industry, has risen from the ashes.
The original Teeling distillery was started in 1782 by Walter Teeling on Marrowbone Lane in Dublin. Teeling was eventually acquired by their neighbors on Marrowbone Lane, William Jameson & Co., makers of the No. 1 selling Irish whiskey, Jameson. By 1976 due to a series of local and global factors taking their toll, the entirety of Irish-made whiskey was coming from a single distillery, Middleton Distillery in County Cork.
The return of Teeling was driven by brothers Jack and Stephen Teeling, who set out to bring world-class whiskey distilling back to Dublin, where their family’s distilling heritage is rooted. Their concept was to celebrate what makes Irish whiskey special while pushing the envelope of innovation. Their flagship spirit, Teeling Small Batch, is the personification of the concept. It combines classic pot still distilling with more modern column still distillation and it’s finished in Central American rum barrels. The whiskey has 46% alcohol by volume, employs no coloring or additive, and is non chill-filtered.
Pairing by: Erik Calviño
Tasting Notes: Teeling Whiskey – Small Batch
In the glass, the Teeling Small Batch has a natural looking, light straw color while the nose jumps out of the glass with tons of spice and vanilla up front along with delicate hints of dried fruit and apple. The palate opens with sweet, intense spice balanced by creamy vanilla, and a touch of oak and citrus on the finish. A very interesting dram in that it has characteristics of a classic, light Irish whiskey but with a layer of vanilla cream that differentiates it.
Cigar Pairing: Espinosa Crema
Pairing the Teeling Small Batch with the Espinosa Crema is optimal in a preferred sequence. Sip the whiskey, then draw the smoke in. You’ll find that the whiskey’s combination of spice, dried fruit, and vanilla add a wonderful dimension of sweetness and complexity to the cigar.
