Facts

Nose

Fruity and sweet with dates, apricotes, bananas as well as heather honey, vanilla and caramel sauce. Almonds. Hints of coconut oil. Touches of grass and hay in the background.

Taste

Smooth and rather sweet. Again sweet fruits and grassy notes. A bit of vanilla.

Finish

Medium, sweet and fruity. Coconuts and lemons balanced by a whiff of bitter oak.

Overall

A very nice and approachable Irish Whiskey. It lacks a bit of complexity, but the sweetness from the Malaga casks is really pleasant.

Score: good but not exceptional (84 / 100)

Facts

Nose

Definitely somewhat winy. Orchards fruits, most notable peaches, together with ripe berries like strawberries and raspberries. Notes of apple peels and raspberry brandy emerge, alongside hints of  vanilla and grapes. A little bit peppery.

Taste

Oily. Again orchard fruits and ripe berries, complemented by vanilla, pepper and hints of ginger. There is a distinctive touch of woody red wine in the background.

Finish

Medium and rather dry. A bit of pepper, a bit of fruit and more woody red wine.

Overall

Not earth shattering, but the wine finish is fairly well integrated.

Score: good but not exceptional (83 / 100)

The Spot brand is produced by the Middleton Distillery for Dublin-based wine merchant Mitchell & Son, making it one of the few “whisky bonder brands” still available today.

Back in the old days, the Mitchells send their empty wine barrels to Jameson’s Bow Street Distillery, where they were filled with new make and were then sent back to mature in the merchant’s cellars. This changed when the Midleton Distillery was build. Since then, the whiskey is matured by the distillery in its own casks, but Mitchell & Sons still have sole rights to develop, market and sell the whiskey.

As for the brand name itself, it was actually inspired by Mitchell & Son’s practice of marking their barrels with a spot of paint to determine the age potential of the whiskey: blue for 8 years, green for 10, yellow for 12 and red for 15 years. The Green Spot was their most popular one.

The current Green Spot is slightly younger than the original. I read it’s between 7 and 9 years old, but don’t quote me on that.

Facts

Nose

Kinda tight-ish but pleasant. A nice, fruity sweetness of bananas, sugared pineapples and apple sauce with a tiny bit of cinnamon, together with hints of vanilla and heather honey. Developing notes of sweet barley, wet leaves and sourdough, followed by something fishy… no, literally, it smells like fish… I don’t know… maybe oyster sauce?

Taste

Oily but pretty thin. Dried citrus peels, milk chocolate and rhubarb, alongside sweet barley and cereals. A whiff of spices in the distant background. Becomes more bitter and oaky towards the end.

Finish

Medium. Lemon peels, milk chocolate and some herbal hints.

Overall

What a snoozefest! Seriously, this is one bland expression, there is really nothing too exciting about it. Maybe ok for hot summer days, but not for much else.

Score: average but worth a try (78 / 100)

Facts

Teeling 15 Years Old The Revival

Nose

Tropical fruits galore! Pineapples, papayas, mangoes and banana chips, combined with lots and lots of cane sugar. With some time, vanilla comes to light, together with apples, orange zest and a whiff of cinnamon. The rum influence is there, but it’s rather subtle and definitely not overpowering.

Taste

The arrival on the palate is unexpected dry and the alcohol is a bit too sharp at first. The rum influence is way more noticeable now. Peaches, pineapples, overripe bananas and dried cherries, along with cane sugar and hints of vanilla.

Finish

Rather medium than long with a drying warmth. Oily and spicy with a fruity touch.

Overall

Don’t expect a heavy rum monster, despite the super long maturation in ex-rum barrels. This is a very fine Irish whiskey with a lovely fruitiness  and a distinctive, but not overdone rum touch. Only the finish could use a little more finesse.

Score: 86 / 100

Facts

The Quiet Man 8 Year Old

Nose

Soft and a bit retrained in the nose. Apples and peaches, balanced by sweet malt and oak cookies. Marzipan and milk chocolate raisins, accompanied by soft touches of marshmallows and candy floss.

Taste

Light with a creamy mouthfeel. Lemons and grapefruits, sweetened with brown sugar. Peaches, bitter almonds and licorice emerge, along with some oak. Ends with dark malt.

Finish

Medium and slightly spicy. Menthol, vanilla beans and oat cookies with nuts.

Overall

A “quiet man” indeed, maybe a bit too quiet overall. I think a few more years of maturation wouldn’t have hurt, as well as a higher ABV (let’s say 43%). As it is, this is a by all means very enjoyable single malt. Light and approachable, perfect for summer!

Score: 84 / 100

Sample provided by Irish Whiskeys

In case you were wondering, the name does not come from the famous 1952 movie ‘The Quiet Man’ with John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in the starring roles, but is a reference to the father of Ciaran Mulgrew, the man behind Niche Drinks. Mulgrew’s father worked as a bartender for 50 years and was well known for not telling any tales. He was ‘The Quiet Man’, or ‘An Fear Ciuin’, as the Irish say.

As of this writing, Mulgrew is building his own distillery and when completed, The Quiet Man Craft Irish Whiskey Distillery will be the first new build distillery in Derry for over 150 years.

Facts

The Quiet Man Traditional Irish Whiskey

Nose

Clear apple juice, menthol cough drops and fresh chopped almonds. Then fresh roasted bread arrives, together with hints of vanilla and cinnamon. Definitely enjoyable, but a bit too youthful around the edges.

Taste

Smooth and creamy. Bitter almonds and citrus fruits, along with a whiff of green apples. Roasted flavors emerge, as well as some oak. The youthfulness is even more noticeable now.

Finish

Medium. Drying with a fruity touch, followed by vanilla and menthol. Gets bitter towards the end.

Overall

Not bad, by any means. In fact, pretty enjoyable but a bit too youthful for me.

Score: 78 / 100

Sample provided by Irish Whiskeys

Facts

Teeling 2002 Port Wine Cask (for Irish Whiskeys)

Nose

A big basket full of green apples with some sour cherries and elderberries in between. Followed by more dark fruits. Then sultanas and almonds. Earthy undertones.

Taste

Oily and full-bodied. A mixture of sourish apples and sweetish grapefruits. Hints of lemon. Vanilla briefly appears before giving way to the spiciness of white pepper and hazelnuts. Dark chocolate.

Finish

Very long and strong. Hints of drying oak and white pepper. Fruits and earth.

Overall

Teeling makes some really good whiskey and this one is no exception. It would be really nice if we could have a port matured expression as part of their core range in the future.

Score: 88 / 100

The first one was the 21 Years Old Silver Bottling, the first Irish whiskey ever to be finished in Sauternes casks, with the other two being the 26 Years Old Gold Bottling (finished for 12 months in French white Burgundy casks, limited to 1,000 bottles) and the 30 Years Old Platinum Bottling (limited to only 250 bottles).

Just keep in mind, Teeling is not distilling any whiskey yet. Thus all Teeling expressions are more like independent bottlings, released under their own brand. Most of the stock, both new make as well as aged spirit, comes from Cooley as this was part of the agreement when the family sold the distillery to Beam Global back in 2011. Yet, it is known that they are also purchasing selected casks from other distilleries.

Be that as it may, the Teeling’s spend money and effort to build the first new distillery in Dublin after 125 years and their distillery is planned to open this year.

Facts

Teeling 21 Years Old Silver Bottling

Nose

At first a lot of floral honey. Then a delicious fruit salad made from white grapes, peaches, golden kiwi, muskmelon, pink grapefruits and raspberries. Garnished with mint. All this fruitiness is handsomely balanced by peaty and earthy notes.

Taste

Brings in the soft sweetness of ripe fruits, most noticeable of grapes, peaches and pink grapefruits with maybe even some oranges. Joined by white pepper, cinnamon and fresh oak. Again very nicely balanced by earthy undertones.

Finish

Medium. Dry oak, also a bit peppery. Once again light peaty earth. Melon balls with fresh mint.

Overall

Lovely exotic fruits combined with peaty earth for some added complexity. Surprisingly deep and rich and just impressive all around.

Score: 91 / 100

But let’s go back to the Teeling Single Malt for now. The Whiskey is a NAS but is made from a range of different ages including 23 years old malt whisky. Five (!) different cask types were used for maturation, including Sherry, Port, Madeira, White Burgundy and Cabernet Sauvignon. It will be interesting to see how good all those different cask types work together – “the more the merrier” is not always true when it comes to whisk(e)y maturation, at least in my opinion. Like the rest of the Teeling whiskeys, this Single Malt is bottled at 46% with no chill-filteration. Now that is something I like about Teeling right off the bat. I wish more distilleries would follow suit (minus the coloring of course). 

Facts

Teeling Single Malt 2014

Nose

Ripe bananas, almost overripe. Honeydew Melon. Than a touch of sweet sour white grapes. Also a winy note. Malt and vanilla infused honey. The second wave is more fruity. Green apples.

Taste

Pepper. Loads of. A true pepper shock wave. After the detonation, sweet melons come to light but the pepper is still noticeable in the background. Then Vanilla creme with a bit too much cinnamon.

Finish

Long. spicy, peppery.

Overall

What a spicy agenda we have here! Enjoyable without any knick-knacks.

Score: 83 / 100

So this special bottling was created to celebrate Bushmills 400th birthday (which is actually in 2184 but anyway). In contrast to the already reviewed Single Malts from Bushmills it is non-chillfiltered and bottled with 46.0%. This blend is partly made up of crystal malt – malted barley which has been dried at a high temperature whilst the grains are still moist, thus partly converting the grain’s into sugars and caramelizing them. Sounds interesting to me and to be honest to you this is the first time that I read about this type of malt.

Facts

Bushmills 1608 400th Anniversary

Nose

At first a very concentrated floral note. I get heather, freshly-cut grass, roses and lavender out of it. Then some more sweeter elements, maybe some vanilla and pine honey. Also marzipan and red fruits. On top of this some medium dry Sherry notes.

Taste

A sweet entrance to the palate with traces of vanilla. Afterwards a noticeable Sherry influx paired with roasted almonds. A slightly oaky touch in the background.

Finish

long with slightly dry Sherry. Lingering dark chocolate and rum-soaked raisins

Conclusion

Pretty much your picture-book type of blend. A bit of almost everything put together in a very enjoyable way.

Score:  81 / 100