Month: January 2017

Teeling Whiskey Distillery

Visit #29, September 24, 2016

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The last stop on our week-long Ireland distillery adventure was to The Liberties area of Dublin to visit the Teeling Whiskey Distillery.  Dublin was once home to over 30 distilleries, but the last one closed in the mid-70s. Teeling opened just recently in 2015 and is the first new distillery to open in Dublin in the last century.  Similar to some Tullamore D.E.W. branding, Teeling Whiskey uses a phoenix on its labels to represent the return of Irish whiskey to Dublin and to the Teeling family.

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Our tour started with the history of whiskey in Dublin and in Ireland, its rise and fall and now resurgence across the country.  A video described the roller-coaster ride of Irish whiskey history and the construction of the new Teeling Distillery.  They sure did not hold back on the building of this modern distillery with a very nice gift shop, bar, tasting area and semi-museum of artifacts and timelines.  And the inner workings of the distillery were just as impressive.

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Here are some notes from our tour of the “working” area of the distillery:

  • they use a wet mill – the water reduces the risk of explosion
  • 15,000 liter lauter tun used, holds 30 tons of grist at 60 degrees
  • 6 fermentation tanks – 2 wood (for looks) and 4 metal – 30,000 liters each
  • fermentation takes between 3 to 5 days
  • each of their stills has a name
    • Alison is the Wash Still – 15,000 liters – temp at 90 degrees
    • Natalie is the Intermediate Still – 10,000 liters – temp at 84 degrees
    • Rebecca is the Spirit Still – 9,000 liters – temp 78.2 degrees
  • stills come from Siena, Italy – each are 5 tons and valued over $1 million
  • aging is done outside of the city in Louth – too dangerous to mature whiskey in the city due to fire concerns
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Lauter Tun

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Wooden washbacks in front of metal ones
Wooden washbacks in front of metal ones
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Natalie, the Intermediate Still
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Rebecca, the Spirit Still
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Alison, the Wash Still

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Description of the barrels and aging

Our tour ended with a premier tasting of the following:

  • Teeling Single Malt
  • Teeling Single Cask
  • and a distillery only Single Malt finished in Cabernet casks
The tasting
The tasting

Overall it was a good tour.  Unfortunately it was on a Saturday and the distilling floor was non-operational.  It’s always nice to be able to see the whiskey being made.  It was a very different experience from our other 5 distillery tours in Ireland earlier in the week.  Just being in Dublin made it more crowded and busy.  The tour was on a strict schedule and there was not much time to linger.  We also rushed through the tasting at the end which was less than ideal.  But this is part of being in a big city on a weekend too.  Teeling is becoming a very popular destination and I am glad we were able to see it now in its early stages.

Charles’ Notes:  I had very high expectations for this visit.  It was our last distillery visit during our week in Ireland which included Kilbeggan, Tullamore D.E.W., Jameson Midleton, Dingle, Walsh and Teeling.  But there was something off about the visit.  Our reservation was lost, even though it was guaranteed in advance with a credit card.  The tour felt rushed and the tasting too.  I had read so many great reviews about distillery visits here so maybe my expectations were too high.  Or it’s possible my earlier distillery visits during the week were competing with each other.  But whatever the reason, it seemed off.  I do think they have a good thing going there with lots of potential and I will definitely be back to make another visit on another Ireland distillery tour.  The bar was a very nice touch and the space was well planned out.  I am still a big Teeling fan!  It’s great to witness the new Irish whiskey renaissance.

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Walsh Whiskey Distillery

Visit #28, September 22, 2016

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On a rare “blue-sky” day towards the end of September in County Carlow, Ireland, we visited the newly-opened Walsh Whiskey Distillery.  Set on a beautiful estate, home to a mansion that dates back to 1755, Walsh Whiskey Distillery is a prime example of the “new” Irish whiskey producers that are quickly popping up across the country during this Irish whiskey renaissance.  Only opened in June, 2016, to the public, the distillery is the latest installment by the Walsh family that started to produce The Irishman back in 2007 through the Irish Distillers.walsh-ii

Located near the River Barrow, the distillery is set in the barley basket of Ireland on a property with 200-year old oak trees.  With an natural aquifer 70 meters underground, the distillery sources many of the ingredients necessary to make whiskey locally.  This farm concept is important the Walsh family where the owner in the introductory tour video states that the purpose of the distillery is to “get back to what it is about.”walsh-xvii

Our high-spirited tour guide for the day was Woody Kane.  He met us in the tasting room and guided us through the distillery, step by step.  Here are some notes from our tour about the “manual” distillery and its process of making whiskey:

  • After the intro video we started with a refresher on the grains that are used by the Walsh Distillery including maize from France
  • Grain stored in 60 ton silos / 30 tons a week are used
  • Hammer mill and roller mill used to grind the grain
  • Mashing is a 3-hour process – 140 degrees for 40 minutes, the heat is released and dropped down to 64-65 degrees for another 40 minutes
  • 3 tons per mash, 10,500 liters of water
  • They have a cooker that can do 4-5 mashes (this was unfamiliar to me)
  • 72 hour fermentation process in 14 washbacks in total producing an 8% ABV wash
  • They have a continuous column still which is 22 meters high which runs close to 24 hours a day, the spirit has a very high ABV of new make and the spirit is taken up around 75% high off the still
  • The pot stills include a 15,000 liter wash still, a 7,500 liter intermediate still and a 10,000 liter spirit still
  • The pot ale tank water is given to the farmers for pig meal
  • Barrels used for aging include Bourbon, Sherry & Marsala
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One of the sample bags of grain near the entrance to the working distillery

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Woody Kane

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The continuous still
The continuous still
Our group
Our group

Overall, we had a great tour and Woody answered all of our questions.  It was great to be able to go through all of the different working stages of the distillery.  The workers on site were also very kind with answering questions.  Being so new I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it seemed like they had planned out the visitor experience very well.

Our guide for the day, Woody Kane
Woody starting the tasting

Our tour ended with a tasting back at the tasting bar near the entrance.  We tasted the following whiskies:

  • The Founder’s Reserve – 70% single malt & 30% pot still
  • Writer’s Tears – Redhead – no age statement, sherry-barreled, single malt
  • The Irishman 17 year old – first-filled sherry butt, single cask, single malt

We ended up purchasing a Writer’s Tears and Irishman 17 to be used at a future Saratoga Whiskey Club tasting back in the States.  Woody was a great host in the limited time that we had and we appreciated the tour and visit.walsh-xiv

Charles’ Notes: We had just spent the entire previous day doing a Whiskey Experience Day at the Dingle Distillery on the Dingle Peninsula.  This included hands-on activities and a full day of whiskey knowledge.  So I wasn’t sure how excited the group would be to go to another distillery the day after such an experience.  But it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise where we learned a lot about another distillery vision with a unique, different story.  It was quite amazing to see the scale of the Walsh Distillery.  Still shiny new, the distillery was obviously built for a lot of growth with a long-term plan.  I remember Woody mentioning that they had a 200-year plan.  It was nice to see year One of the distillery being opened.  We were also very pleased with the product during the tasting.  In fact, the Irishman 17 that we brought back home with us was a very solid whiskey at the tasting that we held with our club.  I do look forward to returning to the Walsh Whiskey Distillery at some point in the near to future to check in with them and see what’s next.

Matt, pretending it is 1755
Matt, pretending it is 1755