
May 26, 2017

The Little sessions, two Teaninich

Easy, quick, with no fuss, no hassles, and hopefully good whisky.

Teaninich 10 yo (43%, Flora & Fauna, +/-2010)

I believe this is a late F&F bottling. To my amazement, I’ve never tried this baby before. Colour: straw. Nose: very bready! I would believe it’s some Austrian malt just distilled in Tyrol and matured in small alpine oak casks for a few months. Quite. So bread, sour dough, plenty of porridge, and a curious smokiness. Charcoal smoke? Some hay as well. Mouth: full-bodied, very malty indeed, with notes of spicy bread, croissants, cereals, then rather lemon cake. A dryness in the background, around tea. Finish: medium, a tad sweeter, and always very bready. Comments: there’s something honest in this malty baby, for lack of a better term. Very textured/oily, which I hadn’t expected. SGP:352 - 82 points.

Teaninich 22 yo 1993/2016 (51.9%, Cadenhead, sherry wood, 258 bottles)

This baby has been resting in sherry since 2013. Probably not first fill, according to the colour. Colour: gold. Nose: ah, nice! Shoe polish and old tin boxes, copper coins, walnuts, fern, carbolinium, bitter oranges, a little oak dust at a cabinetmaker’s, and quite some dried beef, whether Grisons meat or American jerky. Unusual and very nice. With water: falls back into line. Rounder, softer, with roasted nuts and toffee. Mouth (neat): very unusual. Starts bourbony, gets then very citric (concentrated lemon juice), and switches to more meat after a few seconds. Smoked beef and cold cuts, then pomegranates and cigar ashes. Yes that’s all a little unlikely, but there’s some fun to be had. With water: one/off on/off. Lemon and smoky mole sauce (chocolate), plus ashes. Finish: long, ashy, a little drying. More meat again in the aftertaste. Parma ham with balsamic vinegar. Comments: a little experimental, perhaps, but really worth trying. Indeed, some fun to be had. SGP:362 - 84 points.

Check the index of all Teaninich I've tasted so far