Irish whiskey ‘should compete with world’

Irish whiskey brands need to take on the world’s spirits rather than solely competing with each other, according to Jack Teeling of Dublin-based Teeling Whiskey.

Jack Teeling (right) with his brother Stephen (Photo: Teeling Whiskey)

Criticising the tendency of Irish whiskey to fall into “Irish stereotypes” rather than seeking to attract younger consumers, Teeling said that his brand is set apart from the rest through its more “urban” focus.

He said, “Our ethos is confidence in modernity but inspired by the past. We’re competing with the world, and not just with the Irish market, because we see that Irish whiskey is suited to younger audiences. We’re all about urban craft, not about Irish stereotypes.”

Teeling Whisky features several expressions at different price points, including single grain, single malt, small batch and “vintage reserve” age expressions, which Teeling said provided a “perfect ladder into Irish whiskey.”

Teeling spoke to db at ProWein last month, where he announced the forthcoming launch of the brand’s new €10 million Dublin distillery and visitor centre.

The distillery, based in The Liberties area of Dublin, began operation last week, creating the first whiskey spirit to be distilled in the city in over 40 years. The first new distillery in Dublin in 125 years, it is due to open to the public next month, along with the Teeling visitor centre.

Jack Teeling, who is founder and managing director of the company, said: “This is a huge milestone in the story of Teeling Whiskey. It has taken three years of planning, hard work and significant capital investment, but Teeling Whiskey is finally home.”

He continued, “We are proud to be at the forefront of an emerging craft distilling movement and will continue to introduce high quality unique expressions of Irish whiskey to lead the expansion of the market in terms of depth and flavours.”

Founded by Jack Teeling in 2012 after leaving is role as managing director of the Cooley Distillery following its €95m takeover by Beam, the Teeling Whiskey Company was set up to revive his family’s trademark of Irish whiskey and bring distilling back to Dublin, where Walter Teeling had a distillery in the 18th century. The Teeling Whiskey Company is run by Jack together with his brother Stephen, who is co-owner and head of sales and marketing.

Teeling Single Malt was named ‘World’s Best’ at the 2015 World Whiskies Awards and Teeing Small Batch was awarded ‘Best Blended Irish Whiskey’ at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

The company also recently won The Spirits Business’ Grand Irish Whiskey Masters 2014.