Notre Dame’s fabled Four Horsemen dominated college football 100 years ago this season, and to commemorate the Irish, Teeling Irish Whiskey is dropping a rare whiskey with a unique finish this month.
Teeling The Phoenix Legends 24-Year Rivesaltes Finish is the first of three planned whiskey bottlings scheduled in partnership with the University of Notre Dame under the Phoenix Legends collection. Bottle number one in the series commemorates the Four Horsemen’s legendary season and Notre Dame’s first consensus National Championship.
The partnership between the Indiana school and the Irish whiskey distiller began last year as Teeling joined on to be the team’s official sponsor, and it seems to mark the anniversary they’ve decided to make an interesting limited-edition whiskey.
Rivesaltes is a fairly unfamiliar name, even in the nerdiest of whiskey circles. The Rivesaltes region of France produces a fortified wine like port, marsala, or sherry, but a Rivesaltes fortified wine spends a year in the sun inside a glass bottle before being aged, which gives it uniquely spicy and raisiny characteristics.
Teeling’s older whiskeys, which are primarily sourced from other distilleries, have become well-known for their unique finishes. Last year the distillery released a 32-year-old Purple Muscat finish with a $3,500 price tag (the bottle, meanwhile, held only 700ml of liquid instead of the typical 750ml).
Related: Who’s Buying All These $10,000-Plus Whiskies—and Why?
In 2022, the distillery used the relatively new Chinkapin oak species to release a more affordable limited edition under their “Wonders of Wood” series. Teeling Chinkapin Oak had a suggested retail price of $99 despite a limited run of 6,600 bottles—bless than the annual production of rare bourbons like the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection and Old Forester Birthday Bourbon.
A $500 price tag actually makes Phoenix Legends a pretty good deal on spec, comparable releases from the likes of Bushmills and Redbreast go for between $500 and $1,000, with far more production volume than the 1,000 bottles Teeling will be offering in this limited-edition release.
Want the latest whiskey news, deals, and reviews? Sign up for the Whiskey Wednesday newsletter.
Tasting notes provided by Teeling suggest an overall dessert note and fruit-centric whiskey with a payoff finish: aromas of tropical fruits, citrus, cotton candy, and toffee; nuts, honey, and butterscotch with explosions of fruit on the palate; and a “… long warming finish with notes of strawberry, and sweet fruits, pepper, cinnamon, and caramel.”
At 46 percent ABV, it’s not a melter, but Irish whiskeys have long proved at their best a little lower than bourbon drinkers may be used to.
Teeling has also announced a second drop of their ‘Irish Spirit’ jackets, designed by acclaimed streetwear designer Kevin Leonel. To commemorate the legendary 1924 team and whiskey, he’s created designs that reflect the “aesthetic of the bottle design and include a commemorative banner celebrating the historic season,” says the press release.
As for the whiskey, the 1,000 bottles will likely be difficult to acquire but potentially a smart pick-up for the season.
I could speculate about whether or not Notre Dame’s season will last as long as this bottle, but as a Panthers fan averse to casting stones, it sounds like the perfect thing to sip through my ninth viewing of Rudy this year.
Related: Teeling Just Dropped Its Oldest Whiskey Ever—and We Got a First Taste
