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Water of Life – Teeling Distillery

Ah, finally! Teeling Distillery is one that almost got away. For too long it has been in the periphery of my whisky vision and it is high time to finally shed light on what they the Irish distillery has to offer.

For anyone following this series, it should be fairly obvious that I am partial to peated whiskies. While this is a characteristic that most Scottish distilleries cater to in some shape or form and there is talk about some distillers experimenting with peated barley in the region, it is not necessarily something that Irish whiskey is known for.

Now, Teeling has a track record for experimenting with different casks, but it was my first exposure to their Blackpitts expression, the name being an homage to the ancient area behind the distillery.

Triple distilled, Blackpitts zeos in at 55 phenol part per million before maturing in ex-bourbon and ex-Sauternes casks to then emerge with an ABV of 46%.

What tickles the nostrils is a melange of subtle peat peppery and fruity nuances, which rest on a backbone of mint , wood smoke and bacon. The fact that what materialize on the roof of the mouth starts with a saline note, had me intrigued. The journey continues with cidery flavours , honeyed malt and lemon peels that culminate in peaty caramel highlights. Delicious.

The finish is not overly long and a bit reduced as it continues with a focus on the spicy oak, caramelly and peaty end of the flavour spectrum. Despite its ominous name this is quite a harmonious and elegant drop.

Ready to step things up a notch or two:

Teeling’s Brabazon series focuses on whiskies that have been matured in fortified wine barrels and the new No.4 expression is a thirteen year old whiskey that has gotten the Portuguese Carcavelos cask treatment. The result is not surprisingly a tour de force in terms of full-bodied spiciness.

Sweet aromas of chocolate and tarty sweetness are married with honeyed malts and hint at the luxuriously smooth apples and woody tannin flavours that unfold themselves on the palate, which seamlessly transition to the elongated, biscuity finish, which finds its crescendo in floral and fruity maltiness.

The highlight of my Teeling tasting experience however, was a dram of the Renaissance Series – the second incarnation of this limited series is an eighteen year old that was first matured in ex-bourbon casks to then be further refined in Australian Shiraz barrels, which contributes majorly to the complexity of this non-chill filtered expression.

Ruby coloured in appearance, on the nose there are cherries, summer fruits and strawberries, which are counterpointed by spicy, dark fruity nuances. On the palate a dance of red berries, pears, spicy tannins and red wine ensues, which gains depth the longer you swirl it around. Fascinating.

The moreish finish is dominated by a oaky, spicy nut flavours that are centred around a core of fruity red wine. Needless to say, it leaves one lusting more.

Given the experience from the three expressions I have sampled, I cannot wait to dig deeper into Teeling’s portfolio.

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image from company website

Music: A Subversive History

Ted Gioia

Basic Books / Hachette Publishing

Now, summarizing the “history of music” in a little under 500 pages would be a fairly ambitious undertaking at best. However, that is not exactly what Ted Gioia has set out to do, au contraire, as his main objective is to showcase that existing histories of music have missed essential elements that make music intriguing due to their controversial character, e.g. sex, violence, murder, magic, et cetera. Given Gioia’s aim, it should not come as a surprise that a good share of the tome is polemical.

Gioia sets out to prove that music is inextricably rooted in atavistic behaviour such as procreating, battles and hunting by shedding light on the evolution of primordial sounds to the sounds we enjoy today and given his fascination with innovators who were first ostracised by society to then be eventually revered, gives his arguments credence: One of his main points is that established conservative histories of music serve to canonize artists and oeuvres that serve public interest and the maintenance of the status quo, whereas he comes to the conclusion that the truth is that music and its history has never been respectable and, at its core, has always challenged authority.

Summa summarum, academic scholars might not be particularly taken by this exercise in outsider criticism but it is definitely a commendable resource for anyone who is enthusiastic about music no matter the genre as it challenges established viewpoints.

However, what one should not forget is that “subversion” can be interpreted differently and what we are presented with is Gioia’s idiosyncratic sociocultural take on it and his passionate attempt at iconoclasm.

Thus Let Us Drink Beer

Dainton Equalizer and Supertrooper

Every now and then when I am on the verge of not feeling overly excited about the colourful barrage of new craft beers that see the light of day on a weekly basis down under, there is bound to be one of the old faithful breweries that releases another milestone.

A brewery that has never let me down in that regard is Dan Dainton’s enterprise, one of the most consistent breweries in terms of quality standards, creative new creations  and well-calibrated experimentation, all of which carry what has become the trademark Dainton DNA.

For over seven year, apart from its solid core line-up, Dainton has pumped out a wide array of quality releases ranging from staples via sours, smoked porters to barrel-aged beers.

Dainton’s hazy IPA are what made me fall in love with the brewery, so I was excited to learn about a new addition to their core line-up, i.e. the Equalizer, which seems the ABV dialled down a notch for this hazy pale ale.

Stating that the Equalizer has juicy notes would be an understatement par excellence, as the melange of pineapples, orange and grapefruit flavours is positively overwhelming. I did not anticipate to have a hazy regular go-to, but this one is definitely a contestant.

Now, let’s shed some light on an expression I have been dying to try and a beer that in every aspect lives up to its big name – ABBA would be proud: Enter the Supertrooper.

The Supertrooper has things dialled up to eleven in every single aspect that an Imperial NEIPA could be: Haziness, sticky sweetness, piney resinous-ness and tropical fruitiness that is counterbalance by a beautiful maltiness, rounded up with a warming alcohol content of a whooping 10%.

Dainton’s Equalizer and Supertrooper expressions are perfect examples for Dainton’s approach having been nearly perfectioned whatever end of the beer claviature they plan to tackle and I cannot wait to sample future releases.

High Adventures in the Great Outdoors

Vegetarians Do It Better

Animal rights and vegetarianism have been the subject of both underground and mainstream movies for the past five decades, the origin of which is fabled to go back to Lennon’s Bungalow Bill from the White Album.

Specifically within the confines of scenes like hardcore and straight edge, ditties advocating vegetarian- and veganism are manifold with themes ranging from speciesism (e.g. Gorilla Biscuits’ “Cats and Dogs”), ethics of eating seafood (NOFX’s “Clams have feelings too”),  vegetarianism (Cro Mags’ “Death camps”), hypocrisy of ethical meat eating (Propagandhi “Human(e) meat”) and ant-bullfighting (Ataque 77’s “San fermin”).

The movement has grown to a stage where whole festivals are under the banner of veganism, e.g. Fluff Fest in the Czech Republic, and while I often found some tasty fare at such event, it is often hit and miss and overpriced.

Given the fact that animal agriculture is one of the main factors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of land, opting for a vegetarian diet has more than enough reasons going for it and I am always ecstatic when I find something that is not merely meant to resemble meat but tastes delicious as well.

Enter v2food, whose “plant to plate” mission is to design meat alternatives in that their products contain the same hit of protein, iron, zinc, phosphorus and vitamins B12, B3 and B6 as beef mince plus a healthy dose of dietary fibre without any cholesterol.

Having started in Australia, v2food is looking to scale its production and given that they have already established a relationship with Burger King New Zealand, and other burger chains down under it should not be too long until their delicious signature v2mince and v2burger patties will be available in the new world as well.

What makes v2food plant alternative burgers special is not only that they are affordable but the fact  that they have expertly calibrated their patties to not just look but taste juicy and feel the part terms of texture without relying on the involvement of chickpeas. 

With the ultimate aim the make their operations sustainable and have them result in a carbon negative footprint, it is something to get behind – the fact that their v2mince delivers not only on the flavour front but was fantastic as e.g. filling for dumplings for the recent Lunar New Year celebrations or pasta sauce, does not hurt either.

Water of Life – Bourbon Brothers

I had a conversation the other day with someone who repeatedly toured with Motorhead and was eager to share tour stories about Lemmy’s antics. Needless to say, hilarity ensued as the great man’s legacy looms large and many great tales were celebrated. However, I have to admit that when it comes to Lemmy’s drink of choice, i.e. Jack Daniels and Coke, he lost me as I never quite understood why someone would taint the fantastic taste of bourbon with a mixer. Then again, chacun a son gout.

Be it as it may, if you are willing to embark on a journey to learn how to appreciate bourbon and American whisky, it can be a rocky road without the right guidance at the beginning to learn the basics and the finer nuances of different expressions.

Enter Bourbon Brothers.

Spawned by a group of bourbon aficionados, Bourbon Brothers is an Australian entity that has its foci firmly set on premium bourbons and American whiskies.

Appreciating how much it would pain an uninitiated soul to shell out over $100 to take a punt on a whole bottle of amber liquid and then not love it, they have established a spirit subscription services that offers more than the diminutive standard 30ml samples.

Instead of wasting funds on novelty packaging, Bourbon Brothers  focus on the essence and proffer aptly sized 100ml tasting bottles so you can acquaint yourself thoroughly with the respective drops.

With founder Sean having cultivated his faible for spirits from Nashville Tennessee since the dawn of the new millennium, after which he spent a decade in the new world, he has visited most American distilleries himself to learn and imbibe straight from the source.

Upon his return to Australia, he set out to spread the gospel and his love and passion for American whiskies, which eventually led to the founding of Bourbon Brothers along with the curation of premium experiences of which their no-fuss subscription service is only one example.

My  first exposure to Bourbon Brothers was through their  exquisite premium pack, which includes essentials like including two branded Glencairn glasses / coasters and a triumvirate of samples of rye-rich Old Foresters, the accolade decorated Elijah Craig with its honeyed apple flavours and the fantastic small batch Noah’s Mill, which is one the rarer end of things.