Teeling Whiskey Gold Reserve , 26 yo (White Burgundy finish)

We continue our journey through the Teeling range with an older expression. This whiskey was double distilled (at a distillery which usually triple distils its whiskey) in the year of 1987 then it was aged in ex-bourbon barrels , and finally it was transferred into old white burgundy barrels for finishing. I must comment that white wine finishes are not as popular as Red wine finished, especially  Burgundy, so this is a surprising choice, which we’ll later see , was a smart one.

The Gold reserve is also the 2nd oldest whiskey released to date  by Teeling , after the 30 year old (review coming later this week, not to worry).

Teeling – Gold Reserve 26 , 46% abv , €475 (Celtic whisky shop)

Nose: Grapes and pepper. Earthy , and not a bit. That earthy peated feeling is here as well as some vanilla and fruit mainly papaya, and a hint of jam.

Palate: Oh yea. What an exotic fruit bomb! Pineapple, green banana. Peaches (a whole lot of them), then  Red grapefruit too. Berries and  pepper. Coconut. A brilliant melange of flavours and sensations, that even exceeds the super tropical palate of the 21 year old!

Finish: Peaches. Pineapples. Nuts. and some ripe Pomelo.

Bottom line:

I thought the 21 year old was superb, but this whisky is even slightly better, while the palate is gentle, the explosion of tropical fruit on the palate is just sensational! Pure delight. Love it! As for pricing, well it’s not cheap, and It’s not even available in most online retailers E-shops (TWE,MOM etc), but it’s well worth hunting. If you’re in Ireland, do yourself a favour and get one. You will not regret it.

Score: 92/100

Many thanks to Teeling Whiskey Co. for the official sample