Talking Irish Whiskey with Teeling Founder Jack Teeling

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and I can’t think of a better way to start the celebration than by spreading the word about Irish whiskey, and to help sway you towards better drinks (i.e. skip the green beer) this year.

Lucky for us, we recently were able to speak with Jack Teeling, the founder and managing director of Teeling Whiskey Co. and a fine Irish gentleman. Learn a little more about his company, about Irish whiskey and about what to drink on St. Patrick’s Day. Also, we have a couple recipes perfect for the day below the interview.

Seattle Magazine (SM): For those who might not know, what do you think are the core characteristics of Irish whiskey?

Jack Teeling (JT): Irish whiskey by law is required to be distilled from cereals and allowed to mature in oak barrels for a minimum of three years in Ireland. The DNA of Irish whiskey is a soft approachable style predominately influence by the soft temperate environment. For anyone who has have the privilege of visiting Ireland, no matter in the summer or winter, it tends not to get too cold or too hot which allows the whiskey to mature and slowly produce a smooth and accessible taste profile.

SM: Can you give us a short history of Teeling whiskey?

JT: The Teelings have being crafting Irish whiskey since 1782, when Walter Teeling had a distillery in The Liberties area of Dublin city. Myself and my brother are just the latest generation of Teelings involved in the industry. Our goal is to be respectful to our own familys and Irish whiskey’s rich provenance, but at the same time being confident enough to forge a new future for Teeling whiskey and in particular distilling in Dublin. As part of our vision to revive our old family trademark of Irish whiskey we have returned to our roots and have built the first new distillery in Dublin city in more than 125 years.

SM: Though I know you could wax poetic for hours on this, if you had to give just a sentence or two description of your whiskies available in Washington state, what would you say?

JT: Our Teeling Small Batch Irish whiskey, which was launched around 10 months ago, consists of hand-selected casks of Irish whiskey initially matured for up to six years in ex-bourbon barrels and then allowed to marry together in ex-rum barrels for a further six months, imparting unique dried fruit/raisin flavor before being bottled in small batches at 46 percent with no chill filtration.

SM:  What will you be drinking on St. Patrick’s Day?

JT: My current tipple of choice is either a glass of our Teeling Single Grain straight over a single block of ice or a simple Old Fashioned using our Small Batch Irish whiskey, which stands up very well due to its higher ABV and flavor profile.

Recipe for an Irish Whiskey Old Fashioned
To keep things pretty pure, stick with this classic – but keep it classic style and don’t go the wrong route by adding a lot of extraneous fruit stickiness. The drink doesn’t need it, and neither do you.

Sugar cube

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Ice cubes (or one really large one)

2 ounces Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey

1. Add the sugar to an Old Fashioned glass (as you might expect). Dash the bitters on to the cube. Add a splash of water.

2. Using a muddler or a wooden spoon, muddle up the sugar, bitters, and water, and then swirl it around the bottom of the glass.

3. Add the ice, and then the whiskey. Stir briefly. 

Let It Fly
It takes a whiskey with a lot of flavor and a little umph to stand up to the other ingredients in this spicy, herbal, drink. Teeling’s Small Batch fits that bill, and because of that fit makes this a dandy drink for St. Patrick’s Day, even though the ingredients list does travel to a whole number of different countries.

Cracked ice

1-1/2 ounces Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey

1 ounce Kronan Swedish Punsch

1/2 ounce Punt ‘e Mes vermouth

2 dashes Scrappy’s orange bitters

1 dash Angostura bitters

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything, and stir.

2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass.