Teeling Single Grain
A fruit-forward Irish single grain shaped by American red wine casks. Teeling Single Grain brings orchard fruit, red berries and soft spice, with a smooth richness that made this our pick of the two Teelings we tasted.
Tasting notes
THE BOTTLE
Teeling Single Grain takes a fairly unusual route for an Irish whiskey.
It’s made from a mash bill of 95% corn and 5% malted barley, then triple distilled in column stills and matured exclusively in American red wine casks. That last part is especially important here because the red-fruit character is a noticeable part of the finished whiskey.
It’s bottled at 46% ABV, carries no age statement and is non-chill-filtered.
We tasted it alongside Teeling Small Batch, which takes a very different approach. Small Batch combines malt and grain whiskey and uses a rum-cask finish. Single Grain puts the focus on grain whiskey and red wine casks instead.
OUR TAKE
We tasted Teeling Single Grain and Small Batch side by side, and Single Grain was our pick.
The biggest reason was the fruit.
We got orchard fruit and red berries on the nose, followed by a brighter fruit-forward palate with some soft spice. The finish was smooth and rich.
The American red wine casks give Single Grain a very different character from Small Batch. Where Small Batch went towards vanilla, caramel and sweeter tropical fruit, Single Grain felt brighter and more fruit-led.
That suited our palate better.
There’s another interesting detail here. Both bottles are 46% ABV, yet we didn’t find them particularly similar to drink. The cask treatment and the whiskey itself take them in noticeably different directions.
At ₹6,200 for a litre at Delhi Duty Free, Single Grain is also ₹1,400 more than the Small Batch price we checked. We wouldn’t ignore that difference.
For us, though, this is still the one we’d choose between the two. We preferred the brighter fruit profile and the way the red wine casks came through in the whiskey.
If we were picking one Teeling to take home from this particular tasting, it would be Single Grain.
The orchard fruit and red berries give it a noticeably different character from many of the more familiar Irish blends, while the soft spice and smooth, rich finish keep it approachable.
It's also the Teeling we'd point towards if you're choosing specifically between this and Small Batch and your preferences are similar to ours. Small Batch goes sweeter with vanilla, caramel and tropical fruit. Single Grain gives you the brighter fruit profile we preferred.
The ₹6,200 Delhi Duty Free price does put it a step above Small Batch, so that difference is worth considering too.
The American red wine casks take its 95% corn-based grain whiskey in a bright, fruit-forward direction, with orchard fruit, red berries and soft spice followed by a smooth, rich finish.
It costs more than Small Batch at Delhi Duty Free. For our palate, we'd still pick Single Grain. The fruit profile simply worked better for us.
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Frequently asked questions
What does “single grain” mean in Irish whiskey?
Single grain doesn't mean the whiskey is made from only one type of grain. Irish grain whiskey can use a combination of cereal grains and is distilled in column stills. Teeling Single Grain uses 95% corn and 5% malted barley.
How old is Teeling Single Grain?
Teeling Single Grain carries no age statement, so there isn't a declared age on the bottle. As an Irish whiskey, it must still have been matured for at least three years in wooden casks in Ireland. For this expression, Teeling says that maturation takes place exclusively in American red wine casks.
Does 95% corn make Teeling Single Grain a bourbon?
No. Bourbon and Irish whiskey are separate categories with different production requirements. Teeling Single Grain is produced as Irish whiskey and matured in Ireland, while its high-corn mash bill simply reflects the grain recipe used to make it.
What does column distilled mean?
A column still allows distillation to run continuously rather than batch by batch in a pot still. Irish grain whiskey is produced using column stills, and Teeling says its Single Grain is triple distilled this way.
Is Teeling Single Grain finished in red wine casks?
Teeling describes it as matured exclusively in American red wine casks, rather than simply finished in them after maturation somewhere else. That's an important distinction with this bottle because the red wine casks are the stated maturation vessel, not just a final finishing step.
How should you drink Teeling Single Grain?
We'd start neat. The orchard fruit and red berries were the main reason we preferred it when we tasted it alongside Small Batch, so we'd want to experience that profile on its own first. A little water is also worth trying at 46% ABV.