l DISTILLERY VISIT Teeling Whiskey Magic in the air Distillery 13-17 Newmarket The new Teeling Distillery in Dublin Square Dublin, Ireland Something magical happened in the middle of last year – Teelingwhiskey.com when a distillery – the first in over 100 years – opened its ing which there was the imposition doors in the heart of Dublin. Gerry McGovern investigates. of sharp restrictions on the sale of alcohol in many countries in order to preserve resources for war use. In the ublin has a long tradition of distill- A brief history UK the Liberal government passed the Ding in dozens of distilleries, as The story of Irish whiskey is one of Defence of the Realm Act 1914 when evidenced by the massive John’s Lane boom and bust. In the late 1800s, pub hours were licensed, beer was wa- Distillery by John Power and Sons for Ireland was the world’s biggest whiskey tered down and was subject to a penny instance. But the stills have gone cold maker, churning out even more alcohol a pint extra tax. Some Scottish distill- since the 1970s, as amalgamation and than Scotland. Back then, Irish whiskey ers weathered the drop in demand consolidation reduced the distilleries was highly regarded, and it was served by making industrial alcohol for the in Ireland to just two, Irish Distillers as far away as San Francisco where Allies’ war effort. The Irish, who were in Midleton, Co. Cork in the south, and wharf bars put it into coffee. that bit further from the Front, were Bushmills in Co. Antrim in the north. Irish whiskey’s decline began not afforded that opportunity. Matters However, in 1989 this state of af- before the end of the 19th century. grew even worse when America also fairs was shaken up with the founding Scottish distillers proved to be tough brought in prohibition in January 1920. of the Cooley Distillery by John Teeling. competition. Many of them replaced With too much Irish whiskey and too His two sons Steven and Jack contin- or supplemented their pot stills with few drinkers, nearly every Irish whis- ued the family tradition by establishing more efficient and productive column key distiller went out of business over the Teeling Distillery and Visitor Centre stills. A whiskey glut ensued and the next two decades. in Newmarket Square in the Liberties prices plummeted. Liquor firms in The turning point for its recovery area of Dublin in June 2015, at a cost both nations went bankrupt. is acknowledged to have been the of €10m. And then came World War I, dur- consolidation of its three major players 16 z Brewer and Distiller International June 2016 www.ibd.org.uk DISTILLERY VISIT l Photo©Teeling Whiskey Welcome to the Teeling Distillery... Ireland by his Irish wife, who would brook no dissent! He started his working life as a brewer at Bridge- port Brewing and Pyramid Brewing. Bridgeport claims in its trademark to be ‘Oregon’s Oldest Craft Brew- ery’. Alex moved to Scotland ten years ago, enrolling at Herriot Watt University to study brewing and (John Power & Son, John Jameson & when going through the doors is distilling formally. Son, both based in Dublin and the Cork ‘Wow!’ The building is marvellously Eight years ago he became In- Distillery Company, based in Midleton) designed, a blend of bare cement, novation manager with the Cooley into the Irish Distillers Group in 1966. exposed wood, steel and copper, Distillery, where he first came across Bushmills in Antrim joined the group giving it a wonderful mix of warm the Teeling clan – and when Jack and in 1972 – and so one company con- artisan yet cool industrial appeal. Steve Teeling planned their own distill- trolled all distilling of Irish whiskey. There is a shop, a tasting area and ing enterprise, he was the natural That situation prevailed until the café as well as a bar with gorgeous candidate to head up the new activity enterprising elder statesman of the barrel-shaped snugs looking out as Head Distiller. Alex acknowledges family, John Teeling, along with a onto Newmarket Square. There is a that the preceding eighteen months group of far-sighted investors, re- rooftop garden too, to be explored in had been one long whirlwind, but after established the Cooley Distillery (and the warmer days of summer. the huge effort to get production off later the Kilbeggan Distillery) in Co. I was warmly greeted by Alex the ground, things were beginning to Louth in 1989. In 2011 the business Chasko, Teeling’s Head Distiller, settle down. was sold to Beam Inc. for €75m, so who conducted me on a tour of the creating the means to allow the Teel- facility. Alex hails from Portland in Mashing and fermentation ing family to engage in future entre- the US but like a lot of other young Alex took me on a whistle-stop tour of preneurial activities. men in the industry was enticed to the facility. First off was the lauter tun For the Teelings, setting up shop in Newmarket Square in the Liber- ties was a bit of a homecoming. Their ancestor Walter Teeling had a distillery on nearby Marrowbone Lane in 1782. Over 40 distilleries (and innumerable breweries) were at one time extant in the Liberties area of Dublin. This district, just west of the ancient city walls was the industrious heart of the city, well away from the covetous grasp of the city councillors. Hence those who plied their various trades there were at liberty to do practically whatever they wanted without interference. Yes, for the Teeling brothers it felt good to do exactly what their forefathers had done! The distillery’s workings I visited the new distillery in De- cember 2015. The initial feeling Head Distiller Alex Schasko standing in his new still house www.ibd.org.uk Brewer and Distiller International June 2016 z 17 l DISTILLERY VISIT A look at the lauter tun interior – all fully automated from mash-in to grain removal vessel, a brand new state-of-the-art version supplied by Krones/Steineck- er – and not at all what I am used to seeing in small-scale craft distiller- View of the two wooden fermenters in the foreground, with the back-up stainless-steel versions ies! Twice a day 3000kg of malt is awaiting future use when times get busier milled through a wet mill and infu- sion mashed with 12,000L of water to by Joseph Brown Vats of Dufftown ending up at approximately 8.3% ABV give a mash at 67°C. After two hours in Scotland, and are used for 80% of and a PG of 0.997. here the wort is run-off over a two the fermentations. The others are hours and twenty minute period into fermented in stainless-steel tanks Distillation and maturation a vessel which could not be more of a which will see much more use in the From here the wash is transferred to contrast – a wooden fermenter made future when volumes ramp up. These the 150hL wash still. All three stills from Oregon pine! Five hectolitres of tanks and a raft of others (water were made by Frilli in Siena, Italy. ADY yeast is made up in advance and tanks, pot ale tank etc.) were made Using natural gas from the national pitched to the wort being transferred. by local tank manufacturer Spectac network to fire the steam boiler, Weak wort is collected and reused International of Dundalk, who also steam is in turn used to heat the stills into the next mash. installed the pipework. 150hL of wort appropriately. Each of the stills has a The wooden vessels were made is then fermented over three days, Coriolis meter for reporting the ABV of ‘Alison’ the 150hL wash still and ‘Rebecca’ the beautiful 90hL spirit still. Each of the stills is named after Steven Teeling’s three daughters – the third being Natalie 18 z Brewer and Distiller International June 2016 www.ibd.org.uk DISTILLERY VISIT l Photo the spirit produced back to the highly © automated control system, allowing Whiskey Teeling the distiller on duty to ring the changes over the three stills. Two runs from the wash still are introduced to the intermediate still, before it starts up and brings its spirit from 26-27% ABV to the 55% ABV that arrives in the third and final still. This in turn raises the spirit level to 80-85% ABV. This high level is adjusted back to 60% with RO water for maturation and ultimately for transportation to Teeling’s maturation warehouses in Greenore, Co Louth. The maturation warehouses are sited on the southern shores of the Carlingford Lough, under the auspices of Hanlon’s Warehousing. This is yet The Bang Bang visitors bar. 25,000 came in the first six months – and over 75,000 are expected another legacy from the days of the in 2016 Cooley Distillery. Here the new make ‘World’s Best’ at the 2015 World Whis- the visitor centre and 15 in produc- spirit is laid down in a mix of bour- kies Awards and Teeling Small Batch tion, with the rest in marketing and bon, sherry, California wine and some was awarded ‘Best blended Irish distribution. The visitor centre itself Madeira casks, for future unveiling as whiskey’ at the San Francisco World has recently won the Visitor Attraction versions of Teeling whiskey. Spirits Competition. of the Year Award at Whisky Maga- Apart from the whiskies, the visi- zine’s Icons of Whisky (Rest of World) The business – and awards tors centre itself is an important part Awards.