At the top of the Teeling range we have the Vintage Reserve Collection. It includes this Teeling 26 Year Old Gold Reserve and the Teeling 30 Year Old Platinum Reserve which is believed to be the oldest bottling of Irish single malt whiskey recently released.
The 26 year-old was double distilled in 1987 (at Cooley then? or a Bushmills experiment?), matured in ex-bourbon barrels and then married / finished for 12 months in white Burgundy wine casks.
Teeling 26 yo 1987 ‘Vintage Reserve – Gold Bottling’ (46%, OB 2014, Batch 1, 1000 btl.)
Teeling 26 yo 1987 ‘Vintage Reserve – Gold Bottling’ (46%, OB 2014, Batch 1, 1000 btl.)Nose: bingo. Bang-on fruits. Pears, greengages, apricots, papaya and banana. The melon and white grape aromas from the wine work well here. It’s warm, exotic and highly seductive. Gentle spices and vanilla. It also has lots of honey notes, polished oak and a hint of linseed oil to balance the fruitiness. Excellent.
Mouth: fruit galore again. Pineapple, mirabelles, papaya, banana, kiwi… with hints of Moscatel wine. Much more spices now, mainly white pepper and cinnamon, as well as some liquorice. Hints of Earl Grey tea.
Finish: long, still fruity, with soft spices and more hints of tea.
This is cracking whiskey, well composed from high quality casks. Compared to the 21 Year Old though, you’re paying quite a big premium: around € 500-600.
Score: 92/100