LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY
W L
LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY
by David Beaufort-Dysart
Hello , fellow Whisk ( e ) y lovers . ‘ all I want for Christmas ’. is a bottle of 1967 Glenfarclas ’ letter addressed to ‘ 123 Elf Road North Pole , 88888 ’.
Let ’ s start the festive season with some well-known lovers of the ‘ Liquid Sunshine ’. George Bernard Shaw the great Irish playwright who was awarded the Noble Peace prize in 1925 wisely said “ Whisky is Liquid sunshine ”.
Sir Winston Churchill former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill knew that whisky was the key to a better life . He famously said , “ When I was a young subaltern in the South African War , the water was not fit to drink . To make it palatable , we had to add whisky . By diligent effort , I learned to like it .”
Humphrey Bogart with his Macintosh and trilby , Mr Bogart one of the alltime screen icons . During the filming of the 1951 African Queen in Uganda , a dysentery virus swept through the entire cast and crew . Filming was delayed as everyone was evacuated to the Kampala for treatment . Everyone that is , apart from Mr Bogart . He didn ’ t drink water , only whisky . There you go ‘ Bulldog and Bogie ’ were in the know … Mark Twain Renowned author of books like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . Real name , Samuel Langhorne Clemens — better known by his pen name , Mark Twain — had a certain affinity for whiskey . He couldn ’ t get enough of it , once saying , “ Too much of anything is bad , but too much good whiskey is barely enough .”
Margaret Thatcher at state banquets and international conferences , a tumbler of scotch was never far away . Th Iron lady was quoted as saying ‘ Dear , you cannot drink gin and tonic in the middle of the night . You must have whisky to give you energy .’ Maybe that would have something to do with her 19 hours workdays !
What are we tasting this month ? Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey - This is a unique style of Irish Whiskey , crafted using an unconventional ' mash bill ' ( or recipe ) consisting of 95 % corn and 5 % malted barley matured exclusively in American Cabernet Sauvignon Wine casks . This highly unique style is almost entirely corn based . The 95 %+ corn base imparts a distinctly sweet flavour profile . Matured in red wine casks gives a nice red-berry and slightly tannic profile . Proudly bottled at 46 % ABV with no chill filtration completing a whiskey of true natural character !
Non-Chill Filtered - Let ’ s elaborate on Chill Filtration . Ice Bath anyone ? As the name suggests , the whiskey is cooled to a temperature around freezing point . As a result , certain substances , such as fatty acids , proteins and esters , clump together and get stuck in a special metal filter . The only reason for chill filtration is merely cosmetic , or more accurately marketing as non-chill filtered whiskies that can become cloudy if bottled below 43 %. Adding cold water or ice can cause the whiskey to become a little cloudy . Whiskies are often judged as “ fuller ”, “ rounder ” and “ richer ” than their chill-filtered counterparts . Whiskey making , and entrepreneurship has been in the Teeling genes as far back as 1782 , when Walter Teeling set up a small craft distillery in the heart of Dublin City .
Teeling Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery established in Dublin in 2015 by the Teeling Whiskey Company . It is the first new whiskey distillery to have opened in Dublin , once a world whiskey distilling capital , in over 125 years . In fact , with the last of the original Dublin distilleries having closed in 1976 , it is the first whiskey distillery to operate in Dublin , once home to at least 37 distilleries .
The distillery was established by Jack and Stephen Teeling , whose father John Teeling had founded the monopoly-breaking Cooley Distillery . It is located in the Liberties area of Dublin , close to where Walter Teeling , an ancestor of the family had established a distillery on Marrowbone Lane in 1782 . The symbol of the brand , a phoenix rising from a pot still , symbolises the re-establishment of the Teeling whiskey brand .
In 1987 , John Teeling , a descendant of Walter Teeling , purchased a facility in Cooley , County Louth which had previously been set up by the Irish Free State Government to produce industrial alcohol from potatoes . Teeling converted this plant to a whiskey distillery , reopening it in 1989 as Cooley Distillery . The distillery was the first new distillery to launch in Ireland following the consolidations and closures of the 20th century .
The distillery , which includes a visitor centre , café and shop , now employs some 55 staff , and exports to 44 countries . To date , all Teeling whiskeys are 46 % ABV and non-chill filtered . Several styles have been launched , including :
• Teeling Small Batch , finished in ex-Rum barrels .
• Teeling Single Grain , matured in Californian cabernet sauvignon barrels . ( Our Whiskey of the month )
• Teeling Single Pot Still , produced from a mash bill of 50 % malted and 50 % unmalted barley , and aged for three years in ex-Muscat barrels .
• Teeling Vintage Reserve 24-year-old Single Malt .
Teeling whiskeys have been the recipients of several awards . At the 2016 World Whiskies Awards :
• Best Irish Single Malt ( no age statement ) - Teeling Single Malt
• Best Irish Single Grain - Teeling Single Grain
Colour : Medium gold Nose : Honeyed apple and red grape , sweet and slightly floral with fragrant vanilla . Taste : Nice treacle on the palate , light , and buttery with some dried cranberry . Finish : Golden syrup and egg custard now with spicy cereal .
“ It is true that whisky improves with age . The older I get , the more I like it .”
Until next time ... Slàinté
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