We are an independent Irish whiskey company dedicated to bringing choice and breadth back to the Irish whiskey category through small batch releases of interesting and flavoursome bottlings. Our goal is to revive the independent spirit of Dublin. We spoke to Stephen Teeling about how the Irish whisky is currently making a comeback as one of the most renowned whisky spirits in the market.
Stephen, tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into the world of Spirit Distillation?
ST: Our family has been involved in Irish whiskey production for generations. Most recently in 1987 my father built the first new distillery in Ireland for over 100 years called Cooley Distillery. I initially learnt the trade from working alongside him. When the business sold to Jim Beam in 2011 myself and my brother Jack saw an opportunity to create our family’s next chapter in the Irish whiskey by reviving distilling in Dublin & our original Teeling Whiskey brand; a brand that respects the heritage of Dublin Whiskey but is also confident enough to forger our own future.
Teeling Whiskey has a long rich history beginning with Walter Teeling over 200+ years ago. Tell us more about that history.
ST: Our family originally started out in 1782 in Dublin city with an urban distillery in the Liberties area and we have revived that tradition by relaunching our Teeling Whiskey brand & distillery again. This is the first new distillery in Dublin city for over 125 years and we are incredibly proud to be able to restore distilling to the capital city of Ireland.
How has the whiskey evolved over time until this current date.
ST: Back 200 years ago Ireland was the lead producer for whiskey with 60% of the world’s production. Dublin was the epicenter for Irish whiskey production with some of the world’s largest and most established whiskey producers based in the heart of the city. In 1800s there were over 37 distilleries in Dublin, with the majority clustered in the Liberties area. Dublin whiskey versus other rural Irish whiskey producers received a premium of 25%+ for their whiskey owing to the international reputation for quality. There was a focus on triple distillation and single pot still whiskey. This signature Dublin whiskey was renowned for its full flavor but also its drinkability owning to the soft climate it was matured in.
At Teeling Whiskey we are passionate about bringing new flavours and styles to the Irish Whiskey drinker whist retaining our focus on quality. Our motto is to be respectful to the past but confident to forge our own future as the newest generation of whiskey producers. We triple distill our whiskey as a nod to the past but we use innovative mash bills, fermentation processes and focus on unique maturation & rare cask finishes to evolve the flavor profile of our whiskeys.
What innovations are you currently utilizing to stand out in the Irish Whiskey Market?
ST: We bottle all our products at 92 proof to facilitate non-chill filtration but we also pride ourselves on our unique cask maturation focusing on complementary flavor profiles from all over the world. We hand select all our barrels prior to bottling to ensure the quality is there. We do much smaller run sizes than the larger Irish whiskey producers so that means we can focus on signature taste profiles and more bespoke offerings. This is the DNA for all our whiskey.
For example, our Teeling Whiskey Small Batch is hand selected casks of malt & grain that we blend together and then marry in rum barrels for an extra 6 months. Our Teeling Whiskey Single Grain is fully matured in California Red Wine Barrels and our Teeling Whiskey Single Malt utilizes 5 different wine casks to create a completely unique taste profile that had never been produced before.
We focus on quality over quantity and will only bottle whiskeys that we like to drink ourselves. This is reflected in the 100 gold medals that we have won as a distiller making us the most awarded Irish whiskey producer in the world over the last 3 years.
Where are your casks sourced from?
ST: We source our casks from all over the world. Our flag ship product is our Teeling Small Batch which we would mature malt & grain whiskey in ex-bourbon barrels prior to blending them together and then allowing them to marry in rum barrels. We also source ex-wine barrels from California, France, Italy, Spain & Portugal. This unique maturation in high quality barrels is a part of the DNA of all our whiskeys along with hand selection & bottling at 92 proof.
Stephen, Do you have any thoughts about finishing? Port, Sherry etc. More and more finishes are being done by whisky distillers. Do you have a favorite finish (mine is Oloroso sherry)?
ST: I believe if a finish is done correctly then it can enhance the flavor profile. The core objective should always be balance rather than overpowering the underlying spirit.Irish whiskey is very delicate so you should be very careful with how you finish your product. If the cask finish is overdone you lose the key characteristics of the whiskey. As Irish whiskey is quite soft and inherently sweet my favorite cask to finish our whiskey in is rum. The Central American rum barrels that we marry our whiskey in adds an extra layer of raisin & cream to our whiskey with a subtle hint of spice. I think rum is a good balance as a finish for an Irish whiskey.
Do you see yourselves, one day doing a Peated Finished whiskey?
ST: Back in 1800s peated whiskeys were very common in Ireland. In the west of Ireland there was no access to coal so the clear majority of whiskeys would have utilised Peat in the drying process.
This production process fell away when Irish whiskey fell from grace. As part of our drive to revive old distilling techniques at our Dublin distillery we have created a heavily peated Irish single malt that is currently maturing in our warehouse but won’t be ready for 2-3 years.
Our 24-year-old single malt which has a small level of peat which isn’t over powering but very distinctive on the nose & back end of the palate.
Where do you see the Irish whiskey industry 5 years from now?
ST: Irish whiskey is the fastest growing brown spirit in the world with the category expecting to double in the next 5 years. We see the category continuing to expand and innovations becoming much more important. The category at present is dominated by 3-4 large global companies however we foresee a larger role for Independent distilleries expanding the breath & choice in the category. We believe that Dublin can be once again the distilling capital of Ireland and hopefully our distillery will be the spark that ignites this revival. The future looks very exciting.
To a lot of whiskey enthusiasts, the industry is either Scotch or American Bourbon. How does the Irish Whisky fit in the current model, and how do you grow within those two big markets?
ST: Irish whiskey has more history and provenance than Scotch & Bourbon. It was the world’s biggest selling whiskey 150 years ago and Dublin alone had 37 separate distilleries. The reason Irish whiskey was and will be in the future a large whiskey producer is down to the taste profile. The soft climate in Ireland is perfectly suited to making world class whiskey. It is never too hot or cold so the maturation is very consistent. This means the taste profile is full bodied but much softer and smoother than other whiskeys. This appeals to a wider audience and can recruit a younger demographic.
Irish whiskey is a very social drink and a lot of the growth is being driven by consumption in bars or pubs. It is inclusive and while there is a huge amount of history/provenance it doesn’t take itself too seriously. For ourselves we are looking to excite the whiskey drinkers who hadn’t realized Irish whiskeys could be single malts, non-chill filtered or could be married with so many complementary wine or rum casks. Innovation will be key to fight for consideration and consistent quality will be the difference between the winners & the losers.
What is Teeling Whiskey doing to stand out from the major brands like Jameson and Bushmills?
ST: The larger companies have done such a fantastic job at creating a market for standard Irish whiskey and have driven amazing growth over the last few years. However, we focus on innovation & quality to differentiate from these two large brands. We bottle at higher strengths, hand select barrels and continually innovate within the category. Most of our style of Irish whiskey had never been produced before within the Irish whiskey category and from our focus on quality we are the most awarded Irish whiskey producer over the last 3 years.
Our ethos is to challenge the norms by continually innovating. We use a proprietary yeast strain, different styles of mash and continually look for interesting casks to complement the base spirit. We are a new generation of Irish whiskey distillers hopefully making whiskey for the next generation of whiskey drinkers.
What is the main difference between Irish Whiskey and Scotch Whisky?
ST: Irish whiskey must be produced on the island of Ireland and matured for a minimum of 3 years and 1 day (1 day longer than Scotch!). Due to our soft climate, our maturation tends to lend it’s to less contraction & expansion during maturation. Scotland tends to experience much more extreme weather conditions with heavy snow and hotter temperatures in the summer months. This means a signature for Irish whiskey will be a subtle more approachable taste profile. Our malted barley tends to be very fruity and much of Irish whiskeys don’t use peat in the drying process (ourselves and Cooley distillery being the exception).
When doing the Whiskey distillation, where do you think the most flavor control can occur? Grain? Yeast? Water? Wood?
ST: The reality is that the wood maturation for Irish whiskey tends to impart about 60% of the flavor profile hence why we are so focused on world class barrels to complement our delicate spirit. The rest of the flavor profile of the whiskey is based around a combination of all the other factors. At our distillery we use malted, unmalted barley and crystal malt in our mash. We utilise a unique yeast strain in fermentation and we also have a natural water well onsite.
Distillation is a scientific process that is done in a systematic way. The real art form of whiskey making comes from the ageing, blending and maturation of the spirit. Knowing when to take the whiskey from cask or how long to finish the product is a skill that makes whiskey creation one of the most exciting spirits in the world.
Do you believe that now is the most exciting time for a Whiskey Lover?
ST: I believe we are currently in a golden era for Irish whiskey globally. There is such a range of products and ways to enjoy whiskey that a whiskey lover will never be bored! The renaissance in Irish whiskey is so exciting and to be part of the new generation producing innovative and world class whiskeys makes me incredibly proud. Challenging perceptions and focusing on quality will be the key to maintain momentum in Irish whiskey in the future. Brown spirits are back in a major way and we are delighted to be part of the new generation of whiskey producers.
What current expressions of Whiskey does Teeling produce? Can you tell us more about the Vintage Reserve Collection:
ST: The recent growth of Irish whiskey has been driven by the big names of the category, which have focused on the smooth and approachable taste profile of Irish whiskey. With our core products we have retained this smoothness that people love whilst introducing some exciting and new flavour profiles to offer something different.
To ensure we keep people interested in Irish whiskey we need, as a category, to have a full range of taste and expressions that allow people to discover new and interesting Irish whiskeys as their taste evolves. We aim to do this with our core Teeling Trinity Range of the Small Batch, Single Grain and Single Malt.
We then produce a smaller range of very limited edition and exclusive Irish whiskeys. With the aim to help with the segmentation of Irish whiskey and provide unique differentiated Irish whiskeys that do not compete with existing brands but provide a wider range of expressions to allow people to discover something new and interesting within Irish whiskey without having to move out of the category.
Our vintage reserve collection is a limited release bottling collection of some of the world’s oldest Irish single malt. We have recently launched a 24 year old single malt that we mature in ex-bourbon casks for 21 years and then we finish in a Sauterne wine cask for a further 3 years & bottle at 92 proof. This is one of the world’s oldest bottlings of Irish single malt and recently won world’s best Irish single malt at the World Whiskies Awards for 2017. It has just launched in the United States and is limited to 1000 bottles for the entire country.
Stephen, tell us, is there a right way to drink whiskey?
ST: A lot of people believe that it should be drank neat but a small drop of water can open it up the whiskey. For Irish whiskey, it can release a lot of the fruit flavors that had been masked at the higher strength around barrel strength whiskeys.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
ST: Our distillery (www.teelingdistillery.com) in Dublin was voted World’s Best Whiskey Attraction by the World Whiskies awards in 2016 which was a huge accolade to achieve for an independent. Never has an Irish whiskey producer been nominated for this award and we were very proud to put Ireland back on the map for distillery tours. We welcomed 100,000 people in 2016 and are in the top 20 things to do in Dublin on Trip Advisor. For any of your readers coming to visit Dublin please pop in see real whiskey been made again in the city Centre.
There was a quote in the past from Ed McMahon that ‘God created Whiskey to stop the Irish from taking over the world’ our father used to have a family motto stating that the ‘Teeling’s got into Irish whiskey to take over the world!’
