Teeling Virgin Chinkapin Oak Single Pot Still Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

Dublin’s Teeling Whiskey Company has launches a new series, called the Wonders of Wood. Obviously built around the theme of what wood choices do in barrel aging, this first installment is aged in new Chinkapin white oak. This is a varietal from Eastern and Central North America, noted for its wide wood grain. Note this isn’t a finish in new oak. Teeling took their new make pot still whiskey (50% malted and 50% unmalted barley), put it in the new oak casks, and matured it there. End of story. It’s no age statement (NAS) and bottled at 50% ABV.

Almost. It’s the end of the whiskey story. The end of the series story is that Teeling is also working with the Tree Council of Ireland, and as part of this release is planting an acre of native trees in the Wicklow area. That is a bigger deal in Ireland than similar projects in the United States, as Ireland is the most deforested country in Europe.

The Whiskey
A pour of this Wonder of Wood looks like copper (or golden maple, if you prefer) in the glass. The nose carried characteristics beyond the rich and spicy nature of the single pot still whiskey, but at the same time was not the vanilla bomb one expects from a malt whiskey aged in new white oak, the same stuff American Whiskeys are aged in. Instead, it was malty, honeyed sweet, but only a hint spicy, and this joined with grassy and woody notes.

The flavor joined toffee and malty honey at the hip, with the spicy and woody side growing hoarier and spicier. Finally, the finish ran on with the dry, spicy oak. This take on Teeling pot still whiskey is yummy, sophisticated, and unexpected to a large degree.

The Price
Expect to pay $100 per bottle in the US. In Europe, the 70cl fetches €80.