Whether it’s Grant and Smith from Scotchland, Torii and Taketsuru
from Japan or Samuels and Williams from the USA, there’s an iconic barrage of historical
and more recent names that are synonymous with the inception, production and indeed legacy of every whisky producing nation.

This is also reflected in abundance with our friends across
the Irish Sea, with such names as Power, Jameson and more recently Crockett.

But
one name and its family that have been tenaciously trailblazing through the generations since
the 1700’s to this very day, is that of Teeling.

From Walter Teeling who opened a distillery in Dublin in
1782, John Teeling who founded the iconic Cooley Distillery in 1987 and Jack Teeling
who set up the independent bottler (soon to be distiller) Teeling Whiskey Co in
2012, this is a family that well and truly knows a thing or two about whiskey.

Before we even begin to look forward with what we can expect
from this latest family endeavour on the distilling front, we should still be
celebrating  and exploring what has been
released and indeed what will still be released with regards to their
independent bottling’s.

Since the launch of their inaugural Hybrid Malt in 2012,
they have continued to ride on their well-earned place on the Irish whiskey renaissance
wave, with such dramspanking dramming ditty’s as their Small Batch blended whiskey
and their totally sublime Single Grain offering.

As part of our Twitter trending (4th in the UK) Teeling
Tweet Tasting back in December 2013, we were treated to a couple of real
gems in the form of a duo of single malts. One of which was their Silver
Reserve 21 Year Old, which quite comfortably managed to slip into my top five
drams of the year.

The nose kicks off with a full on green fruit fest of granny
smith apples, grapes, and gooseberries. Then it continues to deliver your five
a day (then some) with baked pears, grilled pineapple, papaya and a flirtatious
flounce of lemon balm.

Damp grass, rose water and beeswax make for the next set of
nasal niceties, along with a ground of white pepper, toasted
walnuts and a wedge of bread pudding. Followed by pieces of white Toblerone and a teasing, earthy,
smoky, mentholly freshness.

The palate kicks off almost trying to rival the nose with
its fruity frolics, dishing up barbecue smoked pineapple rings, vanilla infused
poached pears, freshly sliced mango, dried apricots, pink grapefruit and white
grape juice in abundance.

Spiced honey and a jar of Tiptree quince jelly continue the
plethora of palatable pleasures, along with fingers of white chocolate Kit Kat,
a good ground of black pepper, smoke from a mild cigar and a deluge of distinct and delectable influences from the
Sauternes cask from which this particular drop of drammage was finished.

This 21 Year Old stunner then continues to flirt and flout
its wares through its finish, which is as sumptuous, sticky and smoky as it
is lush, long and lingering.

Psst! I did mention above that there were two Teeling single
malts, and indeed there are. Keep your eyes peeled over the next couple of
months for their 26 Year Old Gold Reserve. Having already been very fortunate
in sampling it, all I’m saying at this stage is that it’s a dram worthy of its
own fanfare!