Teeling Single Malt

Dublin-based distillery Teeling is a bit of a newcomer to the world of Irish Whiskey. Still, they have made a big impact with the trio of whiskeys that make up their core range, especially their single malt, along with their highly aged, limited edition expressions like the Teeling 33-year-old.

“The Teeling Single Malt is matured in five different cask types: ex-bourbon, virgin oak, white port, ruby port, and Madeira. It’s bottled at 46% and non-chill filtered,” says McLaughlin. “It’s got a wide array of fruit flavors from the multiple cask maturation, [with notes of] chocolate, ginger, and caramelized apples.

Waterford Irish Single Malt Whisky Peated Cuvée Fumo

As evidenced by the way they choose to spell the word whisky, Waterford Whisky is following its unique path in the industry. “Waterford is a progressive distillery that focuses on the terroir of whisky, working with farmers across Ireland to distill their grain in single runs,” McLaughlin explains. The distillery recently released the Cuvée Fumo, a peated single malt whiskey distilled from barley sourced from multiple farms. 

“When compared with other peated whiskies from Ireland & Scotland, the main difference is the textural elements of the spirit,” McLaughlin says. “The barley’s floral, biscuity notes shine through the distillate with a balanced pungent smoke that makes for an incredibly impressive peated single malt.

Powers Irish Rye

Powers Irish Rye is the first whiskey produced in Ireland using 100% Irish-grown rye. “It’s balanced with loads of flavor, signature rye whiskey spice notes but soft and delicate at the same time," McLaughlin says. “It’s an impressive, approachable dram.”

“Irish Rye as a category is in its infancy,” McLaughlin says. “We are seeing distilleries produce rye distillates now that will reach the shelves in the coming decade, with also a large amount of pot still style distillates being produced with the inclusion of rye as a grain, so the category will certainly be more developed in years to come.

LOST IRISH

When it comes to barrel maturation, it doesn’t get much more ambitious than Lost Irish. They age their whiskey in a variety of casks from all 6 continents; South African brandy casks, Japanese Mizunara casks, European Sherry casks, bourbon barrels from the United States, Australian Tawny Port casks, and rum casks from Colombia.

“Lost Irish balances the drinkability you want from a blended whiskey combined with the versatility you get from the complex flavor profile that the multiple cask maturation creates,” McLaughlin explains. “It’s a great recommendation for anyone who likes fruit-forward whiskeys with well-balanced spice, perfect as a Boilermark, or in a cocktail.

BUSHMILLS 25 YEAR OLD

Bushmills may be one of the oldest and best-known whiskey distilleries in the world, but that hasn’t stopped them from innovating within the category. Bushmills 25 is part of the distillery’s range of ultra-aged single malts. This particular expression is aged for its first four years in ex-bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry butts for around four to six years. The whiskey from each barrel type is then married and aged in European oak port pipes for another 21 years.

“The combination of the fruitful bourbon & sherry components lend to an incredible development of flavor of the 21 years in port,” McLaughlin says. “It’s [an] incredibly well-balanced, textural single malt, bringing Bushmills distillate to a new level. The balance of oak spices to fruit is incredible — a firm new favorite for me.