Four from Teerenpeli
From the Teerenpeli website
Family owned Teerenpeli Distillery was established 2002 in Lahti, Finland. Today the distillery is the biggest distillery in Finland specialized in producing premium quality Single Malt Whiskies. We use traditional pot still distilling equipment, purchased from Scotland.
The original Teerenpeli Distillery is situated in the same building as Restaurant Taivaanranta in the city center of Lahti, Finland. A brand new distillery opened in 2015 at the Teerenpeli Brewery 10 minutes from the center of Lahti, increasing total capacity to over 100 000 litres of new spirit per year. The original distillery in the city centre continues distilling, also allowing some interesting product development.
Teerenpeli Single Malt Whiskies are produced in Teerenpeli Distillery using Finnish malt from local malting factory and gently peated malted barley. The water used is world´s purest Salpausselkä groundwater filtered through gravel that was layered together during the ice age. We are dedicated to traditional stilling methods, and we use only our handmade original Scottish style pot stills.
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Teerenpeli Länki is a Bourbon cask matured single malt whisky, bottled at 46%
Tasting notes:
Appearance: The colour of a young Chardonnay, forms a thin line which falls slowly as thick, oily legs
Nose: Green apples, vanilla cream, lemon citrus and a mild herbal note
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, Bramley apple pie with vanilla custard, and lemon olive oil sponge cake whilst black pepper bring spicy warmth. A drop of water makes little difference other than reducing a little of the spice
Finish: Nutty oak spice and mild olive oil gradually dissipate to leave a prickle of black pepper
Overall: Light and fruity with a lovely mouthfeel. The note of light, floral olive oil makes it unusual and interesting. Very enjoyable and far too easy to drink.
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Kaski - 43%
Traditionally in agriculture before farming the first thing was to slash and burn the ground to produce Kaski (swidden). This also gives the name to the whisky, Kaski the first phase of cultivation – a new beginning.
Tasting notes
Appearance: Amber gold, forms a thin line which falls slowly as thick, oily legs
Nose: California raisins, sultanas, stewed apple and the faintest hint of peat smoke
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, Dundee fruit cake, Demerara sugar, soft smoke and a touch of black pepper. A drop of water only succeeds in flattening the overall profile, to the detriment of the dram
Finish: Lingering sultanas and raisins coated in a soft caramel toffee, delicate peat and soft notes of pine forests and menthol, with just a hint of peppery warmth
Overall: It’s a good, well balanced dram. From a purely personal view, I’d prefer a bit more of the peat to come through, and the sherry element is quite light, but it’s still a very decent sipper. I’d be interested to see the effect a slightly higher abv would have on this whisky.
The finish is quite impressive, lingers well and the pine needle and menthol notes combine well with the caramel sweetness.
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Savu - 43%
Teerenpeli Savu is distilled from peated malt and matured in carefully selected bourbon (80%) and Pedro Ximenez sherry (20%) casks
Tasting notes
Appearance: The colour of an oak aged Chardonnay, forms a thin line which falls slowly as thick, oily legs
Nose: Green apples, butterscotch sauce, mild grassiness, petrichor and a gentle hint of peat smoke
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, gentle peat smoke, soft caramel sauce and a touch of black pepper. A drop of water brings out bonfire peat smoke and milk chocolate enrobed California raisins, in addition to an enhanced creaminess to the mouthfeel
Finish: Lingering sultanas and raisins coated in a soft caramel toffee, delicate peat and soft notes of pine forests and menthol, with just a hint of peppery warmth
Overall: A really enjoyable whisky, especially with a few drops of water. Notes of chocolate, butterscotch and dried fruit marry well with soft peat smoke
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Palo - 46%
Teerenpeli Palo is the anniversary release from 20 year-old Teerenpeli Distillery in autumn 2022. Gently peated Teerenpeli new spirit has matured in carefully selected ex-PX and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. Thanks to the unique Teerenpeli sea container warehouses, Finnish nature has also given its own touch during the maturation.
Tasting notes
Appearance: Deep amber, forms a thin line which falls slowly as thick, oily legs
Nose: Rich dried fruit, stewed apple, salty sea air, gentle peat smoke and a touch of cooling menthol
Palate: Mouthcoatingly creamy, mouthfeel with an immediate syrupy punch of robust red berry compote sweetness. Ashy bonfire smoke, rich dried fruit, honey, sea salt, subtle black liquorice, cinnamon and a touch of white pepper heat. A drop of water brings out more liquorice and a touch more astringency
Finish: Lingering sweet dried fruits mingle with nutty oak, ashy peat smoke and pine resin, with just a hint of peppery warmth
Overall: Every now and again there comes along a whisky that demands you sit up and take notice. A huge hit of sweet, jammy fruit perfectly harmonised with dry, ashy smoke. Unusually, the sweet and smoke seem to rotate multiple times during the finish which adds to the overall experience and makes for an absolutely sensational whisky.
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Summary: I was sitting in a hotel bar on the outskirts of Helsinki one evening when I had one of those ‘hang the expense’ moments and decided to order myself a whisky (Only a single, hotel bar prices in the Nordics can be eye-wateringly expensive!). I always like to try local beers and spirits, so when I spotted a bottle of Teerenpeli Kaski on the shelf that sealed the deal. I was impressed enough to want to delve further into their offerings and managed to pick up a (far less expensive) tasting pack at the airport on the way home. And I’m so glad I did.
Each one of the four whiskies is very different in character, offering something for everyone. There isn’t a whisky among them that I wouldn’t be happy to drink, the emphasis on quality shines through all of them. My favourite would have to be Palo, packed full of flavour with a palate and finish that ticked all my boxes and more.
Prices for these on the Whisky Exchange website vary but tend to be under £60, however these are for 50cl bottlings. Länki is only available from duty free or selected restaurants. Normally I avoid buying 50cl bottles, but in the case of Palo I may well make an exception.
For more information on this range of whiskies and the Teerenpeli Distillery, follow the link to the company website.
