One of our goals at Dalriata is to use food and drink to build bridges between Ireland and Germany. So when we found out that Teeling were working with German wine producers, we knew we had to check it out. We’re very happy to add this Riesling Cask Grand Cru Edition Irish whiskey to our range.
With a production run of just 3,000 bottles, this one’s really quite special. We’re not sure if we’ve ever heard of another whisk(e)y from anywhere in the world which is finished in white wine casks, but leave it to forward-thinking Dublin distillery Teeling to come up with something this innovative. These are exciting times for Irish whiskey in general, and this unique bottling is no exception to this very encouraging trend.
Teeling Riesling Cask Grand Cru Edition starts out life in a similar way as their regular Small Batch Irish Whiskey. Made from 80% grain whiskey and 20% malt whiskey, it spent its formative years maturing in bourbon casks. These are widely used in Irish whiskey production, and impart notes of vanilla and oak. But eighteen months before bottling is where things got interesting for this whiskey. It’s at this point that it moved into the riesling casks which make it so unique.
This latest bottling from Teeling is the third time they’ve collaborated with the the prestigious Weingut Reichsrat vun Buhl. Based in the Rheinland of Germany, they have been producing fine wines for over 170 years. Just like Teeling, they’re a family business. Perhaps this is why they’ve built up such a strong mutual understanding and respect over their previous collaborations. The result is a product which takes Irish whiskey into new and exiting territory.
Its flavour profile rather bucks some of the recent trends of the whiskey world, being unusually light and fruit. Hints of melon, pineapple and nectarine abound, along with that characteristic dry minerality typical of riesling wines. So if you’re in the mood for something truly out of the ordinary, pick up a bottle of Teeling Riesling Cask Grand Cru edition before it’s all gone!