This holiday season, Teeling Whiskey has released a special treat for whiskey lovers: the limited-edition Christmas Batch, a festive blend of 3 casks crafted exclusively for Dublin and Cork Duty Free.

Alex Chasko, Teeling Master Distiller, shared with us the story behind this limited release, uncovering the triple distillation process and the artistry that goes into crafting a whiskey of such depth and complexity. Check it out!

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: Where is the Christmas Batch available

Alex Chasko: This was bottled exclusively for Dublin and Cork Duty Free and is a limited release with only 1,000 bottles produced.

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: What is the distillation process used for this whiskey?

Alex Chasko: At Teeling Whiskey we use Triple Distillation for our Teeling Christmas Batch. This allows us to carry through the inherent fruits flavours that are naturally apparent from our raw materials and our dual fermentation of white wine yeast and distillers yeast. We combine hand selected casks of malt and grain whiskey to craft this one-of-a-kind whiskey.

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: Is the whiskey aged in barrels? If so, what type of barrels are used?

Alex Chasko:This is aged in a festive blend of hand selected Sherry casks, Port Casks and Red Wine Casks. It is then bottled at our signature 46% abv with no chill filtration for that full flavour experience.

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: What was the aim of using a combination of three cask types?

Alex Chasko:We were looking to capture all those aromas and smells you associate with Christmas with this perfect harmony of three cask types, giving notes of Christmas pudding/ cake, red rich fruits and a thick toffee sweetness. The perfect whiskey for you to toast this Christmas to share the Spirit of Christmas!

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: How would you describe the flavour profile of this whiskey?

Alex Chasko: This is truly the Spirit of Christmas in a bottle! As a result of it’s complex ageing process in three different wine and fortified wine casks, this results in a full flavoured premium Irish Whiskey like no other.

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: Are there specific tasting notes or characteristics that stand out?

Alex Chasko: On the nose this whiskey opens with bursts of rich stone fruits, apricots, toffee & muscovado sugar, cinnamon pastry and a light spice. On the palate, it has a creamy mouthfeel with butterscotch, gingerbread biscuits, Christmas cake and allspice. The finish is a long warming finish with stewed fruits, caramel and spice.

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: How do you ensure the quality and consistency of your whiskey across different batches and releases?

Alex Chasko: So this is really where the art and craftsmanship of the Master Blender comes into play, to ensure consistency across not only each batch but from product to product. At Teeling Whiskey we pride ourselves in our hands on approach, as we continue to produce some of the World’s Best Whiskeys.

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: Is there any significance or story behind the label or bottle design?

Alex Chasko: The Phoenix logo on all our packing and bottles symbolises the rebirth of Irish and Dublin Whiskey, as Teeling Whiskey lead the next generation of Whiskey producers, brining breadth and choice to the Irish Whiskey category through innovation and craftsmanship . A shown on the bottle, this was hand-selected for the Irish Whiskey Collection at Dublin and Cork Airport.

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: How do you recommend consumers enjoy this whiskey? Neat, on the rocks, or in cocktails?

Alex Chasko: At Teeling Whiskey we believe that Whiskey can be consumed in a variety of ways, and is a very personal experience so what works best is what YOU enjoy! Whether that’s neat, on the rocks, in a cocktail or paired with your favourite festive treat, all work well with our award-winning products.

Dublin & Cork Airport Duty Free: Are there any specific food pairings that complement the whiskey?

Alex Chasko: The rich dark fruits and spice make this an ideal whiskey for enjoying after Christmas dinner with friends and family and makes a wonderful addition to any cheese or charcuterie offering.