Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey is released today as the second release from the Dublin Distillery (following the release of their Single Pot Still Whiskey) and continues their unconventional approach to expanding the Irish whiskey category.
This release of a new expression of Teeling Whiskey is their first release of Peated Single Malt, Blackpitts. Blackpitts joins the very limited offerings of Peated Single Malt from Ireland that are currently available and helps revive an ancient way of making Irish whiskey, using smoke created by burning peat or turf, as it is widely known, while malting the barley. This was a practice extensively used in Ireland before the wide availability and use of coal in the Irish whiskey industry, for more on Irish Whiskey history, see here.
The name was inspired from the old ancient Blackpitts area just behind the new Teeling Whiskey Distillery based in Newmarket in the old Liberties area of Dublin City. This area was well known as with many industries and in particular malting houses. Blackpitts was traditionally home to some of the largest barley malting houses in Ireland. By using smoke from peat to dry the barley during the malting process, the resulting peated malt produces a distinctive smoky taste profile, which is the signature of a Peated Single Malt.
There are a few differences from historical peated Irish whiskeys,Teeling Blackpitts Single Malt Whiskey is triple distilled, which reduces some of the medicinal character you would get from a traditional Scottish Peated Single Malt and allows the more BBQ smoke characteristic to shine. Another unique aspect of this whiskey is Teeling's innovative cask maturation. For this expression, they used both ex-bourbon and ex-Sauternes white wine casks, which is then bottled at 46% with no chill filtration to produce a truly different and unique expression of Teeling and Irish Whiskey. The inspiration for the use of these casks came from a previous bottling of Teeling 24-Year-Old Single Malt which was honoured as the “World’s Best Single Malt” in 2019 at the World Whiskies Awards. The use of the sauternes casks brings in deep fruit flavours which perfectly compliments the bourbon notes and smoke.
Jack Teeling, Founder and Managing Director of Teeling Whiskey commented,
"Please welcome the newest member of the Teeling Whiskey family and our first Peated release - Blackpitts Peated Single Malt. When we re-established Teeling Whiskey in 2012 our goal was to be the leader in driving the choice and expressions of Irish whiskey as well as to revive distilling in the city of Dublin. With our new Blackpitts Peated Single Malt we manage to achieve both.
The combination of the age-old malting process of using smoke from peat to dry the malted barley combined with the triple distillation in our Dublin distillery, produces a very unique Teeling Whiskey. While this style of whiskey is not for everyone, the whiskey drinkers who enjoy this unique smoky character really do seek it out and it is only right that there is a Teeling, Dublin and Irish whiskey available to cater for this interest. Rooted in history but encapsulating a true modern approach, our new Blackpitts is truly unconventional Irish whiskey at its finest."
“When we re-established Teeling Whiskey in 2012 our goal was to be the leader in driving the choice and expressions of Irish whiskey as well as to revive distilling in the city of Dublin. With our new Blackpitts Peated Single Malt we manage to achieve both.
Bottled in a traditional dark green bottle, similar to Connemara peated whiskey, it has a distinctive screen printing design and metallic label and tin to make it stand out from the rest of the Teeling Whiskey range. With a RRP of €60.00 for a 70cl bottle in gift tin tube, Teeling Blackpitts Single Malt Whiskey will be available in Ireland at the Teeling Whiskey Distillery in Dublin 8, or purchase from IrishMalts here.
An unconventional Teeling Whiskey, one that is their first exploration of peated whiskey. While on our recent 'The Pot Still Teeling tasting', this style of whiskey was not for everyone, it somewhat divided the participants. Those on the tasting that were new to whiskey, let alone Irish whiskey, weren't sold on their first nose or sip. But this isn't an unusual thought, the same reaction has occurred when we had our Scotch tasting night. On the nose, these individuals when they smell a hint of smoke, they are reminded of tobacco. However, Blackpitts is a different type of smoke, on the nose, I got something different.
When we use our nose to get scents and smell, often these smells remind us of situations in our past or a regular hint of a time or experience. I was drawn towards cold charcoal or chargrilled meats on a BBQ. At first sip, I was met with a creamy texture on my tongue, a hint of smoke and some spice from the wood and malt. This is in a different league to what others would relate to as 'Scotch'. The quality of the Malt spirit is what makes the difference here. By heading back to the roots of peated Irish whiskey, Teeling with a new age quality spirit, this is a true modern approach, with a historical touch. Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt is an unconventional Irish whiskey, with a new age twist.
Nose: Chargrill BBQ smoke, cloves, butterscotch & orange peel.
Palate: Applewood smoke, honey, all spice, stewed pears & grilled pineapple.
Finish: Salted Caramel, wood & savoury smoke.