Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/637107
{ SOMMjournal.com } 17 Now comes the newest launch, Teeling Single Malt ($60), distilled from 100% malted barley and aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Each whiskey is individually finished for 14 to 18 months in five different wine barrels: Port, Madeira, white Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon and 21-year-old Sherry casks. The individually finished whiskies are then vatted. The result is a complex mix of cherries, dried fruits and tangy citrus-tannin nuances, making this whiskey equally adept on the rocks or as a cocktail base. Teeling also produces cask-strength whiskies that are only available at the distillery, which is now open for tours and tastings. Not surprisingly, the modern Teeling label depicts a phoenix rising out of a pot still, symbolic of the Teeling's resurrection of their 234-year-old legacy. TEELING WHISKEY BRINGS A TASTE OF DUBLIN TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA "The Spirit of Dublin" soared into The Exhibition Room in Long Beach, CA, where the craft spirits scene is thriving. An intimate late fall Teeling Whiskey tasting featured three expressions of the Irish spirit at a speakeasy that is accessible only by stepping through an old-school rotary telephone booth hidden in the back of dive bar Roxanne's. The air of intrigue and mystique reminded me of the visit I had made to Hollywood's The Magic Castle the week prior. As we tasted through the lineup of Teeling whiskies—Small Batch, Single Malt and Single Grain—the brand rep Dan Hagendorn tipped his hat to Jameson for elevating the profile of Irish whiskey in the U.S. over the past decade, but noted Teeling's distinction of being higher-brow and smaller-batch. "Teeling was built for mixologists to make cocktails," declares Bar Director David Valiante. "Each one is uniquely put together, but they're all meant for us to make drinks with." The Exhibition Room's extensive bar menu includes a bountiful selection of cocktails, as well as flights of whisk(e) y, pisco, amaro and cachaça. The evening's nightcap, the Celtic Bearcat, was a recent addi - tion to the menu and a powerful ode to Irish coffee, with a festive twist. —Becky Tsadik Jack and Stephen Teeling just opened the Teeling Whiskey Distillery, the first in Dublin in over 125 years. PHOTO COURTESY OF TEELING WHISKEY DISTILLERY The Exhibition Room Bar Director David Valiante mixes his Celtic Bearcat, featuring Teeling Small Batch, and topped with salted caramel Scotch ale foam. 1½ oz. Teeling Small Batch ½ oz. Zaya Gran Reserva Rum ½ oz. housemade falernum 1 ½ oz. cold brew coffee 1 dash Angostura Bitters Salted caramel Scotch ale foam Nutmeg Stir first five ingredients. Reduce beer into foam; add cream and egg white and whip together into cream canister. Dust with grated nutmeg. CELTIC BEARCAT PHOTO COURTESY OF INFINIUM SPIRITS