Teeling Blackpitts Peated Irish Whisky (NAS)

 

I love Teeling whisky. I visited the distillery in Dublin in December of 2020 and it was a wonderful experience. I've actually strolled through the Blackpitts neighborhood that this whisk is named for. 

Peated Irish whiskies are pretty uncommon - the only other one I can remember having was Connemara, which I liked but didn't love. This one is triple distilled, of course - they started with peated Speyside malt at the highest concentration they could find (55 ppm) and apparently after the triple distillation it ended up around 15 ppm, which is - in terms of scotch - approximately Springbank territory. 

Spade and Bushel 10 Year Cask Strength Irish Whisky

 

Another treat provided by the venerable Rob Martin, whisky connoisseur deluxe! And another departure from my usual single malt scotch focus. This was released in a limited edition of 5000 half-sized bottles, at cask strength (57.5% ABV), after aging for 10 years in unknown casks. 

Ireland doesn't have the same oak restrictions that the US and Scotland have - they only require "wooden" casks, since oak is hard to come by in Ireland and the whisky industry would have long ago extinguished the species from the island if they were required to use it - thanks to Teeling distillery tour for that bit of info. But I suspect that this spent its years in oak anyway, just based on the drying tannins I taste. 

Bottled by the Connaught Whisky Company, the actual distiller here is unknown. Let's investigate:

Yellow Spot Irish Whisky

 

I've always wanted to try Yellow Spot, but never had the opportunity until I picked up some when leaving Dublin after a wonderful trip. Triple distilled, aged 12 years in a combination of bourbon, sherry, and Malaga casks, single pot still, and bottled at 46% ABV. The vaunted Yellow Spot - how does it measure up? 

Teeling Single Pot Still Irish Whisky

This blog has natural dips in production (much like some distilleries!) when my supplies and funds both get low at the same time. But today is a great treat - not a Scotch, but a very worthy Irish whisky has crossed my path!

Redbreast 12 Year Irish Whisky

Ah, Redbreast! Among the very best of Irish whiskies, it's amazing I haven't reviewed it yet. Same goes for Green Spot / Yellow Spot.

Guest Review: Glenmorangie The Original (10 Year)

Huzzah! What have we here? A guest review from my friend Joe Kano! From time to time I solicit my friends to submit reviews of Scotch they have tried for this blog. So here I submit unedited and in full glory, Joe's review of Glenmorangie's The Original - their 10 Year expression:

Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey (NAS)

What is peat? I've had a couple emails from readers asking that, since I've referred to it multiple times now. Peat is a tightly compacted level of earth that consists of decaying grasses, trees, plants, animals, moss, etc., that is cut by hand and then burned to dry out the malted barley (malting is done by soaking the barley in water until it partially sprouts) during the production of Scotch. 

The composition of peat varies from location to location, which is why Islay peat tastes different from Orkney peat, which is different from the peat of Ireland or the Isle of Skye, etc.