Teeling
The first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years — shaking up Irish whiskey with cask finishes.
Teeling's story overlaps with the revival of a whole city. Dublin once ruled world whiskey, but through the 20th century its distilleries closed one by one, and for a long stretch no new one opened. Teeling broke that silence in 2015 with its distillery in Newmarket — the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years. One brand became the symbol of a city's distilling tradition coming back.
What sets Teeling apart from other Irish whiskey is the wood. Where traditional Irish leans on softness, Teeling finishes across rum, wine and other casks to build character — rum casks for the flagship Small Batch, wine casks for the Single Grain. The prices are mostly kind, and the real strength is that you get this cask-finish interest at entry-level cost.
The "1782" and "Spirit of Dublin" on the label make it easy to mistake for a very old brand. The Teeling family does have roots in 18th-century Dublin distilling, but Teeling Whiskey as it exists today is a modern brand launched in 2012. Much of the early stock was matured from spirit sourced elsewhere, including the family's earlier Cooley distillery, and it took time before whiskey from the Newmarket stills came through. It's more accurate to hold the old roots and the new distillery apart.
If you're starting out, the Small Batch is the answer. The rum-cask sweetness and the clarity of a 46% non-chill-filtered bottling capture Teeling's character in one bottle. If you like what the wood does here, branch out to the wine-cask Single Grain or Single Malt. Award-winning older bottles like the 24 Year climb sharply in price — that's a conversation for once your taste is settled.
Teeling is mostly gently priced — the Small Batch and Single Grain show off cask-finish character at entry-level cost. The 24 Year Single Malt, on the other hand, was named World's Best Single Malt at the 2019 World Whiskies Awards, pushing it into scarce, high-priced territory.
Retail approximations · not a personal tasting
Teeling adds cask-finish character to the softness of traditional Irish whiskey. The flagship Small Batch finishes a malt-and-grain blend in Central American rum casks, laying rum sweetness over vanilla and caramel. The Single Grain uses wine casks and the Single Malt draws on five kinds of wine cask — the range leans hard on wood. The Small Batch is bottled at 46%, non-chill-filtered.
The Teeling family has old roots in Irish whiskey; Walter Teeling is said to have distilled in Dublin in 1782, and in modern times John Teeling founded the Cooley distillery that helped drive the Irish revival. His sons Jack and Stephen launched Teeling Whiskey in 2012 and opened a distillery in Newmarket, Dublin, in 2015 — the first new distillery in the city in over 125 years. That opening became a symbol of Dublin distilling coming back to life.
Teeling is the young, modern face of Irish whiskey. Light rather than heavy, given character by cask finishes, it feels especially approachable to newcomers. The Dublin distillery has become a tourist draw, lifting the brand's profile fast. In Korea too, drinkers broadening out from Jameson often meet Teeling first through the Small Batch and Single Grain.
The Small Batch, at 46% and non-chill-filtered, is clear in aroma yet soft. Sipped neat from a tulip glass like a Glencairn, the rum-cask sweetness and vanilla open up nicely; for casual drinking it also takes well to a tumbler with ice. Even as a highball it keeps some of its cask-finish character, so it flexes across occasions.
Sources · Production and range — teelingwhiskey.com · history — Teeling Whiskey Co. / trade sources · award — World Whiskies Awards 2019 · product image — Teeling