Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/646914
march 2016 / the tasting panel / 71 COVER STORY Y ou have to have been hiding in the deepest jungle—or probably on the far side of the moon—to miss the almost continuous stream of news in the last couple of years about the revival of Irish whiskey. Suddenly this grand old spirit, all but dead 20 years ago, is everywhere: New expressions are being launched; distilleries expanded, re-opened and started from scratch; and a wave of money, some from established distillers and some from brave entrepreneurs new to the business, is flooding into the category. It's all good news—good news the like of which Ireland hasn't seen since the disastrous financial crash of 2008. But for died-in-the-wool traditionalists (like me) the feeling was that the revival of Irish distilling couldn't really be said to have truly come home until whiskey was once again being made in Dublin—and, for preference, in the traditional heart of the industry, The Liberties. Today, it presents an area in transition—modest brick terraces abut gleaming modern apartments; run-down warehouses and mysterious, near-derelict industrial spaces are juxtaposed with cooler-than-cool web design studios and uber-trendy, hipster "urban bike" workshops—yet this was once the distilling capital of The staples of Teeling Whiskey Company's portfolio: the Single Grain, the flagship Small Batch and the Single Malt. PHOTO COURTESY OF TEELING WHISKEY COMPANY COVER COVER STORY STORY OF Dublin The SPIRIT THE TEELING WHISKEY COMPANY BRINGS IRISH WHISKEY BACK TO ITS CAPITAL by Ian Buxton