A NEW whiskey tasting experience is helping to reignite a surge of interest in the spirit to a new Belfast audience every month.
The word whiskey comes from the Irish uisce beatha, meaning 'water of life' and continues to be the fastest growing spirits category in the world.
Uisce Bhéal Feirste started last November, with the aim of bringing Irish whiskey tasting sessions to Belfast. The events take place in the historic and traditional surroundings of Maddens on the second Monday evening of every month.
To date, Maddens has welcomed Bushmills, Redbreast, Dunville and Dingle to the pub.
For May's whiskey tasting it was the turn of Dublin-based Teeling Whiskey. I went along this week to experience Uisce Bhéal Feirste for the first time.
Whiskey making and entrepreneurship has been in the Teeling genes as far back as 1782, when Walter Teeling set up a small craft distillery on Marrowbone Lane in the industrial heart of Dublin City.
Since 2012, Jack and Stephen Teeling, the latest generation of Teeling Whiskey makers, have been putting their own mark on Irish Whiskey which came full circle in 2015 when they proudly opened the new Teeling Whiskey Distillery just down the road from where the original family distillery once stood.
The Teeling Whiskey Distillery today is the first new distillery in Dublin for over 125 years.
Our host for the evening was Teeling Whiskey brand ambassador Graham Kinsella, who informed us he landed a job with the company after being approached by the Teeling family in his off-license in Dublin as he was selling so many bottles of their whiskey every month.
Five years on, Graham continues to promote Teelings and his knowledge and craic throughout the evening was second to none.
On to the whiskey itself and we sampled six whiskeys from the Teeling range – Small Batch, Single Malt, Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt, Single Malt Crystal, Single Pot Still and the 21-year-old.
I had never tried any of the Teeling range before and I really enjoyed quite a few of them.
Biased or not, Graham said the Teeling Small Batch is the best whiskey of its kind in Ireland and it is not hard to see why. It is Teeling's best-seller and definitely one I will be looking out for again.
I wasn't a fan of the Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt but that is nothing against Teeling but a personal choice. I have tried a number of peated whiskeys before and the flavours are just not for me.
Graham saved the best to last – the Teeling 21-year-old whiskey was simply superb and so smooth. This fruity, lightly spicy single malt was first matured in ex-bourbon barrels then finished in Marsala casks for a further three years. As with any whiskey of a similar age or more, you will pay for a bottle but it is well worth it.
At the end of the night, Uisce Bhéal Feirste invited us to take part in a raffle with all money raised going to a charity chosen by Graham – the worthy Children's Health Ireland (CHI) team at Temple Street who cared for his very ill newborn daughter.
Over £400 was raised, which will be matched by Graham and Teeling Whiskey which is fantastic. Some great prizes were also won on the night including a £50 bar tab for Maddens and some Teeling Whiskey merchandise.
Uisce Bhéal Feirste will welcome Jameson next to Maddens for the next instalment on Monday, June 10. It promises to be a hugely popular one!
You can follow Maddens Bar Belfast on Facebook and Instagram and Uisce Bhéal Feirste for ticket information to be released soon.