Bacardi is making a significant foray into the fast-growing Indian Irish whiskey market by launching its award-winning premium Teeling range of whiskies. Teeling is a relative newcomer in the Bacardi fold. The group, whose stable includes brands like Grey Goose Vodka, Bombay Sapphire Gin, and Dewar’s Whisky, besides the famous rum, first acquired a 40% stake in the Dublin-based Teeling Whiskey Company in 2017 and has since increased the shareholding to a majority 79%.
Teeling itself is a relative newbie in the world of Irish whiskies. The company was founded by Jack and Stephen Teeling, whose forefathers were in the whiskey business as far back as 1792. Their father revived the family's interest in whiskey when he set up the Cooley Distillery in 1987, which became famous for its brands like Kilbeggan, Connemara and The Tyrconnell. While his sons cut his teeth working with him at the company, John Teeling sold the distillery in 2011 to Beam Suntory. Following this, Jack and Stephen founded Teeling Whiskey Company in Dublin the following year. It began production in 2015 and was the first new distillery in the Irish capital in over 125 years. In less than a decade of operation, Teeling has grown to become the most awarded Irish whiskey of recent times.
Jack Teeling was in India last month to personally launch two whiskies from the company's range in the country. Teeling Small Batch Classic is a classic blended Irish whiskey with a sweet and spicy aroma and a fruity flavour specially crafted for the Indian market. It is made from grain and malt whiskies aged in ex-bourbon casks. The second whiskey is Teeling Single Malt, which is also a fruit flavoured, made with whiskies distilled from 100 % malted barley and aged in a way that infuses it with the character of five distinct casks —virgin American Oak, Ruby Port, Marvellous White Port, Madeira and Bourbon.
Jack Teeling, the Managing Director of Teeling Whiskey, spoke to Man’s World about his family history, his whiskies, and why Teeling is betting on India.
Man’s World: Tell us about the Teeling whiskey heritage.
Jack Teeling: Our family has been involved in Irish whiskey since 1782. and my brother Steven I are the new generation of Teelings trying to make our own mark. While we are mindful of our long heritage, we are confident to do things in a more modern way, to create a range of whiskeys that can connect to a new generation of global whiskey drinkers who are looking to experiment and discover something new. What we are launching in India is crafted uniquely for this country, something we feel represents all the good things about Teeling whiskey targeted at the India palette.
MW: What have Indians been telling you about Irish whiskey during your visit?
JT: Irish whiskey has probably been underrepresented in the Indian market, because of the dominance of Scotch and other categories. But it's been changing over the last 10 years or so. It is in step with what's happening around the world. Around five years ago Irish whiskey started to take off, so much so that it is now the third largest imported whiskey in most countries, behind blended and Single Malt Scotch, and the second fastest-growing category. While this growth is being driven largely by one or two big brands, I find that people are discovering Irish whiskey in multiple ways. This is because Irish whiskey is quite versatile, and you can enjoy it in multiple ways — be it straight, with soda, with mixed drinks and so forth.
MW: How is Teeling different from whiskies like Jameson and Bushmills, which Indians are familiar with?
JT: We opened our distillery in 2015, where we do things differently in subtle terms. This starts with how we ferment our moss and barley. We use white wine yeast in the fermentation process that brings stone fruit flavours. We also run our pot stills differently to ensure the end spirit retains that fruit profile after distillation. Finally, the quality of the casks that we use are also different. Most importantly, as whisky makers we are very hands on with the product manufacturing process. Ours is in that sense a hand crafted whiskey. We make whiskey in small batches. Myself, our master blender, my brother, are all actively involved in choosing individual casks that we use in creating all our products. It is these whiskeys that we're releasing in India, which hopefully will resonate with our consumer here.
MW: Which is the whiskey that you are launching in India?
JT:We are launching two variants in India. Our main expression is our small batch, Small Batch Classic whiskey exclusively created for the Indian market. It's not available anywhere else. We have worked with our importer on the nose and flavour, and we feel with this whisky we are filling a gap in the taste profile that is missing within Irish whiskies currently in India. It is a blended whiskey with some grain whiskey, made from corn, and triple distilled, producing a very light, sweet spirit that is matured exclusively in first-filled bourbon barrels that give it a lovely honey flavour with hints of spice and so forth. Each bottle has a batch number, which relates back to the cask from which it comes from. Every bottle has our family name on it, and I take personal ownership to make sure every single bottle represents the quality that, our family has been known for.
We also are launching a triple distilled single malt, which is made from 100% malt barley distilled using that white wine yeast, which again, brings the stone fruit flavours into it. And again, exclusively matured in first barrels that impart five different influences— Virgin American Oak, Ruby Port, Marvellous White Port, Madeira and Bourbon. It is aged for up to around six years and then bottled to 46% ABV with no chill filtration, resting all the essential fatty acids and esters. The whiskey has a lovely velvet, smooth character and viscosity that you don't get with other Irish whiskey. It has a full flavour, and a range of unique taste points that hopefully is well balanced and delivers a taste profile that we hope Indian consumers will enjoy.
MW: What do you mean when you say that the whiskey is specially crafted for the Indian palette?
JT: Well, we're always learning. We are not experts. We can't dictate what whiskey people should like. Everyone is different, and everybody likes different things. What we wanted to showcase was the versatility of Irish whiskey and Teeling whiskey, and what we wanted to get across was a sweet fruit, floral, yet spicy whiskey that can be consumed straight with soda, or in a well-crafted cocktail. We have hopefully created a whiskey that will deliver a taste profile that hits a sweet spot on the Indian palette. We worked with our local partner to come up with the right taste profile that Indians are known to like. We do things in small batches, so we are open to tweaking it as we go along and we get more information on what is working and not working.
MW: You have made a big success of Teeling as an international whisky brand in less than 10 years after starting production. . Why did you decide to sell your majority stake to Bacardi so early?
JT: Yes, we have built a strong partnership with Bacardi, but that doesn't change anything as far as the whiskey is concerned. Because our name is on the bottle, we continue to have a huge amount of ownership and responsibility to ensure the brand retains its core values. From the start, we had global ambition. We wanted Teeling Whiskey established as the leading premium Irish whiskey. But the challenge as a one brand company is the route to market, and Bacardi, from very early in our journey, expressed interest in Irish whiskey, and we got to know each other well. It’s been a long courting process of getting to know each other. They are also a family owned business, so we share a lot of similar values. We started working with them back in 2017 in the biggest market in the world for Irish whiskey, which is the US. The relationship has deepened since. Because we are now part of the Bacardi group, we are able to access markets like India faster and more easily than we would have on our own. We come now with a strong partner who understands the market, has people on the ground, and also has a portfolio, and the vision of doing it in the right way over the medium and long term. Hopefully it's the recipe for success in markets like India.
MW: How important will India become for Teeling as a market?
JT: The USA is by far the largest market for Irish whiskey. Our home market is important for us, because we want to be relevant. There's nothing worse than someone coming to Ireland from India and asking for a Teeling whiskey and not finding one. Then there are other important points of sale like global travel retail which is crucial for us. And then there are a handful of markets where we feel that we as Irish whiskey makers are making a long-term bet, and India is right at the top of that.
