Relatively, Finnish whisky industry is quite young. The oldest continuously running distillery Teerenpeli started distilling 2002. One Scottish distillery manager once said to me, we won’t get good Finnish whisky in his lifetime. I just wish that he would have been with us in this Teerenpeli tasting. We had one of the first ever filled cask of Teerenpeli and, at the time, oldest Finnish whisky ever, in our line-up. Along with five different cask owner bottlings and a sample from distillery. I would say it was the best Finnish whisky tasting ever so far. If you, my reader, know better one, I would like to hear about it. finwhisky@gmail.com

Line-up:

No surprise we had a full house at the tasting. One could feel the anticipation in the air combining to lovely smell of whisky. We started with the sample from distillery. Jari Mämmi was representing distillery and brought us 6yo cask sample that has been in ex-bourbon cask which had their coffee stout before. It was definitely something any of us haven’t had before. General opinion was that it was a great start but probably needed some more time in the cask.

Next in the line-up was two different youngish first fill PX casks. Amount of sweetness struck by surprise when tasting Jukola. Explanation came later as we heard story how when filling the same cask second time, cask took in five litres more than in the first time. Quite special bottling. Ionadail was many ways different and much more usual PX cask type of whisky. It was originally supposed to bottle at cask strength but after human error it was diluted to 43% abv. Such a shame.

Then we moved to Sudenpentu, which was great example of how good whisky you can get from quality small casks in a short time. Definite sherry bomb and in my opinion, it was the best whisky in this line-up. Could recommend the combination to anyone thinking of getting their own private cask from Teerenpeli.

Our fifth whisky was IN7 which was matured only in ex-bourbon casks. After those sherried ones this one really gave room to lovely Teerenpeli new make. I have had the chance to taste their new make straight from the pot and can say that it was one of the best ones I have tasted. With a really good new make, I think you have much better chances making whisky in ex-bourbon casks that stands out from the wide offering of similar whiskies.

As we were heading to the last four, I think most of us were surprised again. Bessie was chosen as the best whisky of the evening. It was no surprise, since this was only one that had hints of smoke in it. And we Finnish people tend to like smoky and peaty whiskies. But what a lovely balance with that small smokiness from ex-Laphroaig cask and fruity Teerenpeli new make. Not something we will see in the future widely available but surely special Finnish whisky for those who have tasted it!

Teerenpeli’s oldest OB bottling is 10yo. It has been several years in the markets. They also have bottled some older single casks for special occasions. Last three whiskies in our line-up had all been distilled in the early days of the distillery, Taivaanrannan Maalarit cask been the #2 cask ever filled and first customer cask. I have written earlier about the early days of Teerenpeli and their challenges to get good casks as a nameless Finnish distillery. 10yo single cask that we had next, was bottled for Finnish beer community. There was no better information of this cask than that it was a refill sherry. 10 years is a short time in a refill cask. It was not bad but not anything special either.

Finally, we were at the last two. First the Taivaanrannan Maalarit. The first customer cask. Felt historically to have the chance to taste this one. Also, as a 12yo Finnish single cask it sure was also quite rarity. The story told that angels were quite greedy on this one and there were not many bottles bottled. During maturation they had to change cask as well. Notable silence entered the room when everyone was smelling and tasting. I had myself quite mixed expectations. Saw smiles and positive nodding in the room. We shared a special moment with this one. Well, how about the taste? In my opinion it was a proof that we can make a good whisky in Finland. It was no superb or something to die for. Most important with this one was the shared moment that we all can remember later! Something that we should appreciate in this hobby!

Last one was the oldest ever bottled Finnish whisky. So far. If you think of most balanced of whisky in the evening, it sure was this one. The cask may not have been the best but you definitely got more nuances and complexity from this one than any of the others. It only lacked some special effect that would have made it spectacular. Nevertheless, one more example that Finnish whisky can be good.

Very nice evening with whisky friends. Many told about new private casks that were in the making so we will definitely have another of these in the future.