Teeling Whiskey Distillery

Dublin used to be the capital of Irish whiskey, and then it spent the best part of forty years without a single working distillery. Teeling Whiskey Distillery is the place that ended the drought. It opened in 2015 in the Liberties, close to where a Walter Teeling was distilling in 1782, and it was the first new whiskey distillery in Dublin for more than 125 years. It is also, since June 2026, owned outright by Bacardi. The family that built it has handed over the keys.

Who owns Teeling Whiskey Distillery?

Bacardi owns it, entirely. The Teeling Whiskey Company, which runs the Dublin distillery, was founded by the brothers Jack and Stephen Teeling in 2012. Bacardi bought a minority stake in 2017 and raised it to a majority holding a few years later (Bacardi’s own announcement says 2022, some trade press says 2023). On 23 June 2026 it announced that it had bought the remaining shares. The price was not disclosed, and Jack and Stephen stay with the brand as strategic advisors.

That is a real change to the story. For its first decade Teeling presented itself as an independent family business, and plenty of older write-ups still describe it that way. It is better described now as a family-founded brand inside a very large drinks group. That is not a criticism, just a fact worth knowing before you read the label. For the wider picture, see who owns what in whisky.

The history of Teeling Whiskey Distillery

The name goes back a long way. Walter Teeling is recorded as distilling on Marrowbone Lane in the Liberties in 1782, and the modern distillery sits near that spot. The more recent line runs through Jack and Stephen’s father, John Teeling, who bought a former potato alcohol plant at Cooley in County Louth in the 1980s and turned it into Cooley Distillery, one of the reasons Irish whiskey got interesting again.

When Cooley was sold to Beam in 2011 and 2012, Jack Teeling left, and the family negotiated 16,000 casks of maturing whiskey as part of the deal. That stock let the Teeling Whiskey Company launch in 2012 and sell whiskey under the family name while a distillery of its own was still being built. It was a sensible way to get started, and a good one if you have a famous surname and a lot of casks.

The distillery opened in Newmarket Square in 2015, in the Blackpitts area of the Liberties. Bacardi says it has since welcomed more than a million visitors, and the brand is now sold in more than 80 markets. Then came the ownership chapters: a minority stake in 2017, a majority holding a few years after that, and full ownership in 2026.

How Teeling Whiskey Distillery is made

Teeling distils on site in copper pot stills, with a stated capacity of around 500,000 litres of spirit a year. That matters because the first Teeling releases leaned on the casks from the Cooley deal, while the Dublin distillery’s own spirit has been maturing since 2015. The distillery is what turns the brand from a clever label into a producer.

Three pot stills

The still house has a 15,000-litre wash still, a 10,000-litre intermediate still and a 9,000-litre spirit still. Wash, intermediate and spirit is the classic layout for triple distillation, the old Irish habit that tends to give a lighter, smoother spirit than the double distillation used in much of Scotland.

Finishing is the house trick

Teeling is best known for what happens after the ex-bourbon casks. The Small Batch is finished in rum casks, the Single Grain in Californian red wine casks and the Single Malt in five types of wine cask. Most of the range is bottled at 46% and, as far as the published details go, non-chill filtered, which is a good sign at this price.

The Teeling range

Teeling sells a tidy core range, and the two bottles we have reviewed are the ones most people meet first. Both are bottled at 46%, and both do something a little more interesting than the average Irish blend at the same price.

Small Batch. Teeling Small Batch is the one to start with: ex-bourbon casks finished in rum casks, 46%, about £38 for 70 cl, and a Caskable score of 80.

Single Grain. Teeling Single Grain is finished in Californian red wine casks, 46%, about £40 for 70 cl, and scores 79. Grain whiskey is usually the quiet one in the room, and the wine finish gives it something to say.

Single Malt and Single Pot Still. The Single Malt is finished in five types of wine cask. The Single Pot Still is made from a mix of malted and unmalted barley, the style Irish distillers invented, and spends part of its life in ex-Muscat barrels. Older limited releases, including 13, 24 and 33 year olds, have been bottled in small numbers and priced accordingly. For the wider style, see Irish whiskey.

How to drink Teeling

The Small Batch is built for easy drinking. Try it neat first, then with a splash of water, and if the weather is awful make a Hot Whiskey with it: hot water, lemon, cloves and a spoon of sugar. It also behaves in a highball with ginger ale and plenty of ice.

The Single Grain is lighter and sweeter, so it suits a small measure over a big ice cube. The wine-finished Single Malt is the one to keep for a slow glass in a quiet room. If you are new to the category, our beginner’s guide to Irish whiskey is a good place to start.

Visiting Teeling Whiskey Distillery

The distillery is at 13 to 17 Newmarket, Dublin 8, in the Liberties, and it is open every day. The official hours are 11am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 11am to 7pm on Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sundays and bank holidays. The phone number is +353 1 531 0888.

There is a menu of tours rather than a single one. The Teeling Tasting Tour is €22 (about £19) and lasts around 50 minutes, with a whiskey cocktail included. The Trinity Tasting Tour is €26 (about £22), also 50 minutes. The Distillery Select Tasting Tour is €35 (about £30) and runs for 55 minutes. The Irish Coffee Academy, where you make your own, is €55 (about £47) and takes 70 minutes. The Connoisseur Cask Collection Experience is a small-group tour at €60 (about £51) over 60 minutes. Prices change, so check the website before you book.

Book through the distillery website. Private groups of 15 or more are arranged through the contact page. There is also a gift shop, the Bang Bang Bar and the Phoenix Café on site, so you do not have to leave if the tour has made you thirsty. The Liberties is also home to other Dublin distilleries, including Roe & Co, Pearse Lyons and Dublin Liberties, so an afternoon of distillery-hopping is easy to plan.

Teeling Whiskey Distillery: quick answers