Whisky : Teeling 15 Year Calvados Cask; Shinanoya Cask Selection

Country/Region : Ireland

ABV : 56.6%

Cask : Ex-Calvados

Age : 15 Years (Distilled Oct. 2003, Bottled Jan. 2019)

Nose : Fruity and subtle with apples, Korean pears, ripe plums, sweet cherries, and bubble gum.  Light and clean with white clovers, fresh grass, and faint florals.

Palate : Medium bodied and oily with sweet fruit and subtle cream.  Ripe plums, apples, and fruity bubble gum.  On the mid palate licorice, cherries, and black peppers came into focus along with a fruity acidity.  Grape popped in on the end along with sweet lemon meringue.  

Finish :  Lingering grape sugars with a mild dryness.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Fruit Stripe Bubble Gum

Notes : A really tasty Irish bottled by Teeling.  This was the first time I was actually able to sit down and jot down some notes on a Teeling.  I have had a few Teelings over the years, but they always came at the end of the night or the end of a whisky bar visit when someone found out about my limited exposure to the delights of Irish whiskey.  I used to love Irish whiskey and Green Spot was the first whiskey with which I ever fell in love.  It has been a while and my tastes have certainly changed.  

This was quite delicious with a really nicely balanced fruity-sweet profile that never came off as too sugary.  I think if I had had this years ago, when I first discovered Green Spot, I would have been absolutely nuts about this.  Today, I found it a bit simple and without a whole lot of depth.  It had excellence balance, but not a lot of complexity.  Overall, a fine dram and one that I can imagine many will find to be right up their alley.