Hot on the heels of Michiel Wigman’s Teeling single cask there is another one. My friend Tom van Engelen visited Dublin recently, and brought back this single cask from the distillery. A rum cask, of no less than 23 years old!

I was a bit skeptical about this since Irish whisky already tends to be on the sweet side, especially older versions. Add to that the sweetness that rum casks can (but not always do) impart. This might just be sweetness overload. But, of course, never scoff a thing before trying it, in case of whisky at least.

Sniff:
Surprisingly spirity with clear notes of the sweet graininess that is Irish whisky, and also a molasses funkiness of rum. So, not an insignificant cask influence. Lots of green malt and unripe pears too.

Sip:
A sharp but light palate with lots of fresh barley, grass and sugar cane. The bite is quite typical for rum, in a very surprising way. Oak shavings, molasses, pears, apples, and a grape seed bitterness.

Swallow:
The finish shows a bit more sweetness, a bit more rum and molasses. Creamy caramel, green malt, and orchard fruits

After the recent White Wine cask, it seems Teeling carries casks very well. I’m liking this more than I expected. The sweetness of the rum is present, but the spirit handles it very well so it really turns out to be a combination of the spirit and the cask.

89/100