Well hello there as Obi-Wan Kenobi would say. This is the last article for this week. We had lots of scotch reviews lately so now I think it's time to return to Ireland the land of Saints and Scholars or the land of a thousand welcomes. Whichever you prefer to be honest, I like both since both have a true meaning. Ireland has a rich variety of textual evidence from medieval Ireland that survives, which suggests there were hundreds of different saints in Ireland and also Irish Scholars excelled in Latin and in turn attracted scholars from across Europe to learn Christian theology in Ireland and thus this would explain why it's referred to as "the land of Saints and Scholars" many times. In Ireland there is a phrase, "céad míle fáilte", that they use when greeting people. In shops, on doormats, and plastered on the walls of the arrivals hall in Dublin airport you will see this phrase staring at you and probably confusing you because it has no resemblance to English. It is a phrase in the Irish language which means "a hundred thousand welcomes", and it is from this phrase that the famous epithet "the land of a thousand welcomes" originated. I digress..I hope I'm not boring you, I thought this was... well, interesting. So as I said we are travelling back to Ireland and we are going to take a look at a lovely limited bottling from Teeling called the Crystal Single Malt. Strap in, it's gonna be interesting!

About the distillery

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, in almost 40 years.

The distillery was established by Jack and Stephen Teeling, whose father John Teeling had founded the monopoly-breaking Cooley Distillery in 1987. 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.

Teeling has a huge core range that you can choose from.

• The Unconventional Collection that consists of the Small Batch blended whiskey, the Single Malt, the Single Grain, the Single Pot Still and the Blackpitts Peated Single Malt. All of them coming in at 46%, tripled distilled and non-chill filtered.
• The Limited Edition bottlings: the Blackpitts Cask Strength and the Wonders of Wood #1-2-3 bottlings. The Blackpitts coming in at 56.5% while the WoW editions at 50%, triple distilled and non-chill filtered.
• The Vintage Reserve Collection, which includes their most prestigious bottlings. The Rising Reserve No. 1 and 2, and a 30 and a 32 year old single malt. All of them coming in at 46%, tripled distilled and non-chill filtered.

What exactly is Crystal malt?

Crystal malt is mainly used in brewing, making beer. But in some cases as always the whisk(e)y industry takes an unexpected turn and makes something new out of something unusual. Well, this is not new because crystal malt is used for years in whisk(e)y but definitely it was something new a few decades ago. For example the whiskey Bushmills released for their 400th anniversary was also made out of crystal malt. It was called The Bushmills 1608 anniversary edition, check a review of it by clicking HERE.

One of the simplest ways to manipulate the flavor of your beer or in this case whiskey is to use crystal malts. Crystal malts are specialty grains that add flavor to any spirit. These malts are used in many beer styles, from pale ales to porters, and are the most widely used type of specialty grain. And now they are also used in whiskey.

Crystal malts are made from barley grain in a process similar to that of making pale malts. As with pale malts, the grains are steeped and germinated. Unlike pale malts, crystal malts are then stewed — they are heated in a closed system that doesn't allow moisture to escape. As a result, the starch interiors of the barley grains are broken into sugars by amylase enzymes in the barley. After stewing, the grains are kilned. Kilning dries the grain, darkens the husk and caramelizes some of the sugar inside. 

Crystal malt is not the only "different" malt used by whisk(e)y distilleries, they regularly use Chocolate or Coffee Malt too which is stewed / roasted for longer than crystal malt, getting a darker husk and different flavors. For example the Scallywag Chocolate edition which is made of chocolate malt.

Teeling Crystal Single Malt - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46%

"We are proud to announce the release of the highly anticipated Teeling Crystal Single Malt! This innovative expression pushes the boundaries of Irish Whiskey craftsmanship through the use of a highly atypical mash bill and innovative cask maturation techniques, as a limited expression of our Award-Winning Single Malt!

Introducing our Teeling Crystal Single Malt, our newest limited edition expression of Award-Winning Single Malt. The Teeling Crystal Malt is made with a recipe of Distillers Malt & Crystal Malted barley. It undergoes a dual fermentation with Distillers Yeast & White Wine Yeast. Then this it is Triple Distilled and aged in our warehouses in Virgin American Oak barrels.

Bottled at 46% ABV with no chill filtration, this is an Irish Whiskey of true character! Limited to just 18,000 bottles, it is definitely a whiskey not to be missed!"

Nose: Alrighty. This is quite awesome. There is a typical smell of crystal malt, if you had a whisk(e)y made of that you know it. It has a certain chocolate-y, toasted, roasted note. It's just really quite something else and lovely. Also it was aged in American Virgin Oak for 8 years, so yes it reveals very strong, pristine wood aromas in the nose. So the first two leading note or layers are the crystal malt and the wood. It's also full of spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and a hint of aniseed. After going through these layers and delwing deeper into the nose the fruity aromas come out. Green apples and juicy pears, along with apricot jam. Some tropical smells can be found here too such as banana and roasted pineapple. Then some vegetal notes such as freshly cut grass and again wood. It's a very deep, full-bodied and complex nose. There is no smell of alcohol or youthfulness. Amazing.

Palate: In the mouth it's very silky but spicy at the same time. First the spicy sensation wooshes through you with ginger and black pepper. Then it gets sweeter and shows toffee, milk chocolate and roasted malt. It's just so different and so good. Freshly cut wood, spices in the form of cinnamon and nutmeg with a hint of espresso. This whiskey has personality and it is not afraid to show it right away. A lovely cavalcade of cooked fruits such as cooked apple and pears can be tasted along with grammy's apricot jam. Apple pie with sugar frosting and vanilla sauce. Roasted pineapples and almond paste. And then again the virgin oak gives you notes of wood and aniseed. It's just really complex and unique. It is switching between the spicy and sweet side quite well. It's very well balaned and very tasty.

Finish: It has a very long finish that is spicy & sweet. It leaves your tongue tingling from the black pepper and ginger, but it also leaves a very sweet aroma in your mouth thanks the fruits that are present. The dominant notes that stay in the mouth for minutes are coffee, roasted malt, coconut, nutmeg and toffee. A very nice and balanced finish, it doesn't leave you wanting to drink more and more right away, you can "chew" on it for minutes and take your time with whiskey.

Overall I am very impressed. This joins the group of "the best whiskies I've had in 2024 so far". For me this whiskey shows such a strong and independent personality. I really like it, when a whisk(e)y can do that and lately I am not so impressed by new releases coming out of a lot of distilleries mainly in Scotland. Lots of whiskies lost their indentity, lost their personality. This is mainly due to the immense and overwhelming use of sherry casks and the even worse poor quality seasoned sherry casks. This whiskey dares to take up it's own personality and it doesn't join the ranks of heavily sherried boring whiskies. It dares to do something else. The use of crystal malt and the virgin oak maturation is very brave and in my opinion it pays off. The whiskey is very complex, very tasty, has a nice depth and it's not boring at all. It's a bit pricey but hey, this is worth every penny it costs. After this bottle is empty, I am getting another one to savor it later, thankfully whiskey doesn't go bad so I can crack it open even after 30-40-50 years. I think you should buy it, open it, drink it and re-buy it again. This is a very good whiskey, it deserves the spotlight and I rate this beauty a very high 92 / 100. Outstanding, unusual, brave and lovely whiskey.

Some pictures in this article are not owned by me, I tagged their owner and I attached a link of their site. All other pictures that have no tags are TAKEN AND OWNED BY ME.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.