Teeling Brabazon Series Trio
So here we have a review that's around 8 years in the making, so I'm pretty much on point once again with giving people what they want.....timely reviews! It's hard to believe that this year will mark the 10th anniversary of the Teeling Distillery opening it's doors, how time flies. I was last there in August 2024 and it remains an impressive distillery to visit and a tour I'd recommend to anyone visiting the city.
Like many new distilleries seeking to pay their bills, Teeling released sourced whiskey expressions while waiting for their own distillate to come of age. Helped by the fact that Jack & Stephen Teeling were the sons of John Teeling, the distillery had quite the inventory of old stock to choose from after John had sold the Cooley distillery to Beam Suntory. As such there was a flurry of limited releases such as the beautifully packaged Revival Series and also the series we are looking at today, the Brabazon releases.
The Brabazon name is synonymous with 'The Liberties' area in which the Teeling Distillery is based. The Brabazon family have been credited with being crucial to the economic development of the area from as far back as the mid 16th century. William Brabazon, the 3rd Earl of Meath, managed to acquire a royal patent to establish a twice weekly agricultural market in the Liberties to further bolster the struggling local economy. It's suggested that this not insignificant input is why Walter Teeling decided to build a distillery in the area.
As well as celebrating the Brabazon family this range is also designed to showcase the impact of fortified wines on whiskey. Release 1 focuses on sherry, release 2 on port and release 3 on a specific Bodega. There is a fourth expression that looks at a specific style of port called Carcavelos but I've been unable to try that expression to date.
Series 1 was bottled in March 2017 and is made up as follows:
30% 2008 vintage Sherry Butt, 30% 2007 vintage Sherry Butt, 30% 2005 vintage Sherry Butt, 5% 2001 vintage Sherry Hogshead, 2.5% 2002 vintage Oloroso Finished, 2.5% 2002 vintage PX Sherry Finished. So although a NAS release the ages range from 10 to 17 years old. It's non-chill filtered, there's no mention of being natural colour but I suspect it it and it's bottled at 49.5% abv. This was around £65/€78/$80 on release with an outturn of 12,500 bottles but is no longer available.
Series 2 was bottled in September 2018 and is made up as follows:
20% of 2009 distillate fully matured in Ruby Port casks, 20% of 2007 distillate fully matured in Ruby Port casks, 20% of 2001 distillate fully matured in Ruby Port casks, 12.5% of 2005 distillate fully matured in White Port casks, 12.5% of 2002 distillate fully matured in White Port casks, and 10% of 2005 distillate finished for approximately two years in Tawny Port casks. This time the age range is 8 years old to 17 years old. Again non chill filtered, possibly natural colour and bottled at 49.5% abv. The pricing was the same as Series 1. Like series 1 it also had an outturn of 12,500 bottles.
Series 3 came out in 2020 and has an age statement this time of 14 years old. It has been matured in ex-bourbon casks for 11 years before a 3 year extra maturation in PX casks. Interestingly there is no mention of colouring or chill filtration on this bottle but we'll assume it hasn't been subjected to either. Bottled at 49.5% abv with an outturn of 10,000 bottles and priced at £85/€95/$100.
Let's taste.
Teeling Brabazon Series 1 Sherry 49.5% abv
Nose: Vanilla fudge, nougat, mixed nuts, foam banana candies and peach. A slight plasticine note too. A little woodiness with nutmeg. Plums, melon, kiwi and plenty of malt.
Palate: Sherry is more prominent on the palate than the nose - brown sugar, raisin, wholenut cadburys chocolate. Orange peel. Quite viscous. A little chili flake heat plus stem ginger. Underneath the sherry is banana, grilled pineapple and vanilla cream. Sweetened black tea and brazil nuts.
Finish: Relatively short with raisins, baked apple and warming ginger.
Score: 6 out of 10
Teeling Brabazon Series 2 Port 49.5% abv
Nose: This is a little more direct - damson jam, blueberries and cherry. Slightly musty and dusty like an old cellar. Apple and blackberry tart with cinnamon, nutmeg and clotted cream. Fresh honeycomb, orange peel and even some bay leaf.
Palate: A nice velvety mouthfeel followed by plenty of port inpsired fruitiness - pears poached in red wine, stewed damsons and plums, mulled wine. Cinnamon sticks, anise, black pepper with some toasted oak.
Finish: Medium length with a nice spice heat alongside lingering dark fruits, fresh and dried plus some garden mint.
Score: 7 out of 10
Teeling Brabazon Series 3 PX Finish 14 year old 49.5% abv
Nose: More floral than the previous two - perfumey with honeysuckle, parma violet sweets, light raisin notes as well as fresh plums, red apple and toasted almonds. A hint of cherry again. Turkish delight, milky coffee and that plasticine note again.
Palate: Another lovely mouthfeel - for a 3 year PX finish it's not a complete sherry bomb. Poached pears, sugary baked apples, fresh fig and sultanas. Candied peels, sweet ground cinnamon, red licorice, ginger and some menthol. A little spice heat mid palate just to let you know your drinking something.
Finish: Medium length with orange marmalade, figs, almonds and warming ginger.
Score: 7 out of 10
Overall: I have to say that I enjoyed all three of these expressions. I think that at £65 the Series 2 Port release represented great value, especially in the crazy prices of Irish whiskey of late. It also helps Teeling that they have very good stock of Cooley spirits to draw from and they have done them justice with these releases. If you can find any one of these in the wild or at auction for rrp I'd happily recommend any of them but of the sherried expressions the Series 3 would be the one to opt for.
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