This is a travesty. How could an award-winning brand like Teeling dare put 15-year-old Irish Whiskey into a Japanese Mugi Shochu cask?! This is against “the rules,” isn’t it?! Well, don’t be such a fast young whipper snapper because what if we told you that this here dram could be amongst the most interesting and best whiskeys we’ve had all year – *cough, cough* if we forget about that glorious glass of 15-year-old Pappy Van Winkle and that very special 17-year-old Eagle Rare. Yeah, it’s the best.
Of course, if we’re talking about great Irish whiskey and unique casks, we couldn’t be talking about anything other than Teeling’s limited edition Explorers Series. Specifically, the 15-year-old Japanese Edition.
Look away if you’re a purist and prefer to drink a classic bottle of pot-still Redbreast 12-year-old because this whiskey takes 11-year-old ex-bourbon Teeling liquid and matures it into unique ex-Mugi Shochu spirit casks sourced directly from Japan. The result is one of our favourite drams, with a one-of-a-kind flavour profile that is as morish as it is layered and explosive.
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Teeling Explorers Series Japanese Mugi Shochu Cask 15Yo
Price: from AUD$175
- Size: 700ML
- Standard drinks: 25.4
- Alcohol volume: 46% ABV
- Brand name: Teeling
- Closure: Cork
This is a 46% ABV whisky, but when you open the bottle, you’re not met with pungent alcohol. It’s a mature, balanced, pleasantly sweet liquid with a tangy passionfruit and lychee scent.
Nose the glass, and there’s a clear nod to the ex-bourbon casks it spent most of its life in with delicate vanilla and oak. However, the Mugi Shochu cask doesn’t take long to break through with that aforementioned tangy sensation. Toasted barley notes balance the sweetness nicely. If you spend time with the liquid in the glass, you might even find strawberries, raspberries, and other red fruits.
The first sip is a fun experiment for your taste buds with that vanilla and oak on the front of the palate before the desert-like combination of syrup, poached pears, and even a little gingerbread arrives on the mid-palate. The syrup is like a Cottee’s caramel (that beautiful artificial flavour), while the gingerbread is subtle and far from those medicine-like biscuits your grandmother would bring to Christmas lunch.
Finally, you’re met with a beautiful finish that lasts forever. It’s like eating a slice of syrupy ginger tea cake with frosted icing. It’s not long before you fall into a slumber, but it’s so moreish that you can’t help but come back for seconds.
If you’re looking for a comparison, this is a unique whiskey, and we don’t want to compare it to anything specific. However, the best local comparison would be something like Starward’s Ginger Beer cask. We’re looking at a 15-year-old Irish whiskey here, and fundamentally, it’s more mature than most whisky coming out of Australia. Is it better? Well, that’s something you decide, but we say yes. We’d rather not compare and simply look at the fact that it’s a delicious dram.
Delicious and very limited. Since it was released, it’s become very hard to find on the market. While the retail price was initially set at AUD$175, and bottles sat on the shelves for a few weeks, it’s since found a cult-like following, and we haven’t been able to find a second bottle for less than AUD$290. That said, it could be worth every cent. This is one of the most interesting, fun, and overall best whiskeys we’ve enjoyed drinking this year.
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