This Q&A is a part of Observer’s Professional Insights sequence, the place business leaders, innovators and strategists distill years of expertise into direct, sensible takeaways and ship readability on the problems shaping their industries. Within the coronary heart of Dublin, Jack Teeling is proving that whiskey-making can honor centuries of custom whereas embracing the way forward for sustainability.
As co-founder and CEO, Jack Teeling helped open Dublin’s first new distillery in over 125 years, each reviving his household’s 18th-century legacy and rewriting the foundations for contemporary Irish whiskey. From utilizing repurposed warmth to heat the customer middle to bottling experimental blends completed in Swedish oak, Teeling has made it clear: respecting custom doesn’t imply repeating it. The distillery’s city location, within the coronary heart of the historic Liberties neighborhood, has grow to be each a inventive constraint and an environmental catalyst.
Whereas some distilleries lean on nostalgia and others chase novelty, Teeling strikes a uncommon stability by pushing ahead with daring sustainability commitments and distinctive storytelling, with out sacrificing high quality or craft. As the primary Irish distillery to hitch Origin Inexperienced and winner of “Sustainable Distillery of the Yr,” Teeling is proving that whiskey may be world-class and forward-thinking. Local weather motion, area people and a wholesome dose of ambition are shaping the subsequent chapter of Irish whiskey—a future that depends upon extra than simply good style.
How do you push innovation with out alienating purists in an business the place custom is prized?
Innovation and custom don’t need to conflict. We honor Irish whiskey’s heritage by specializing in genuine craftsmanship, pure character and high quality substances whereas exploring new methods to precise its potential. Our grasp distiller, Alex Chasko, continually seeks out distinctive casks—like virgin Swedish oak and Rivesaltes casks—that allow us create flavors that specialists and novices can each recognize. We see that when innovation is rooted in custom, individuals are extra open to new expressions.
For me, it’s all the time been about maintaining the spirit of Irish whiskey alive whereas exhibiting the world what it may be. My household’s roots return to 1782 when Walter Teeling opened a small distillery within the coronary heart of Dublin. When my brother Stephen and I opened the Teeling Whiskey Distillery in 2015, only a quick stroll from the place our household’s authentic distillery as soon as stood, it really felt like coming full circle. I’m extremely happy with how we’ve honored that heritage whereas additionally pushing the business ahead.
Our Small Batch, completed in rum casks, is an ideal instance of how we craft a contemporary mix of innovation and custom in Irish whiskey. It’s easy and welcoming, with notes of dried fruit and spice that attraction to these simply discovering the class. We provide one thing for each form of whiskey lover, from our Single Pot Nonetheless, crafted to honor the historical past of Irish distilling, to our Trinity vary, together with Single Grain and Single Malt to extra experimental releases.
How do sustainability efforts like rainwater harvesting, rooftop beekeeping and round power methods contribute to long-term enterprise resilience?
Sustainability is a part of how we function every single day. Practices like harvesting rainwater, sustaining rooftop beehives and repurposing waste warmth cut back our environmental affect, permitting us to include our rooftop honey into cocktails on the Bang Bang Bar. Past effectivity, sustainability connects us to the native ecosystem and neighborhood, and with Dublin named the 2024 European Capital and Inexperienced Pioneer of Good Tourism, we’re proud to be a part of a neighborhood that cares deeply about its affect.
However our dedication goes past decreasing affect. It’s about constructing a extra resilient future for whiskey-making, exemplified by successful the Sustainable Distillery of the Yr award on the World Whiskies Awards. We reuse barrels and spent grain, and our rooftop photo voltaic panels now present as much as 30 p.c of our electrical energy. As Eire’s most sustainable distillery and a proud member of Origin Inexperienced, Eire’s nationwide sustainability program for the food and drinks business, we’re exhibiting that daring innovation and long-term duty can thrive collectively.
What have you ever realized about tying environmental efforts to taste, storytelling and shopper loyalty?
Customers in the present day need greater than only a nice product; they need a narrative and a model with function behind it. Our dedication to sustainability retains us rooted within the coronary heart of Dublin, connecting deeply with the local people and the hundreds of holiday makers we welcome annually.
At Teeling, it’s vital that we’re prioritizing this not solely in our distillery practices, however within the choices which can be out there to shoppers. Our tenth Anniversary Birthday Batch, out there on the distillery, takes this a step additional, with one hundred pc of income donated to native Dublin charities, connecting the discharge on to our social sustainability efforts. Sharing these tales creates a significant reference to shoppers, fostering loyalty as a result of they really feel a part of one thing greater than simply ingesting whiskey.
How does the Teeling customer expertise mirror your environmental priorities, and are there methods you’re utilizing hospitality to inform that story?
We see hospitality as an opportunity to carry our values to life. Sustainability is not only one thing we point out in passing; it’s built-in into each a part of the customer expertise. The tour route is designed to spotlight our inexperienced infrastructure, from our water and power conservation methods to how we repurpose warmth from manufacturing. Guests additionally see our photo voltaic panels on the distillery roof, a visual dedication to renewable power and study our packaging decisions, our Origin Inexperienced membership, and the methods we assist native biodiversity.
On the finish of the tour, sustainability shines in our substances on the Bang Bang Bar by our use of rooftop honey in cocktails, waste-minimizing practices, and a concentrate on native produce and neighborhood partnerships, together with herbs like mint and rosemary grown in our on-site Garnish Backyard. Our purpose is for each customer to stroll away with a deeper understanding of not solely how we make whiskey, however why we do it this fashion.
Are you able to communicate to how Teeling’s city location impacts your strategy to inexperienced design, sourcing and biodiversity?
Being based mostly within the coronary heart of Dublin’s Liberties neighborhood presents distinctive alternatives and challenges. City distilling means we’re surrounded by a vibrant, evolving neighborhood, and this influences us to suppose creatively about integrating inexperienced areas, like our rooftop backyard and beehives, proper into the town cloth. It drives us to concentrate on round design by reusing warmth and harvesting rainwater to reduce our footprint inside a restricted house.
We additionally supply thoughtfully and preserve a dedication to biodiversity, serving to assist native species within the metropolis the place many ecosystems face stress. As an illustration, Teeling maintains a rooftop backyard that’s residence to over 500,000 native Irish bees, taking part in a significant position in native pollination and reflecting the distillery’s broader efforts to combine nature into city-based whiskey manufacturing. Our city setting pushes us to innovate responsibly and set an instance that sustainability is feasible anyplace.
As local weather pressures develop, what’s the dialog you’d prefer to see the worldwide spirits business begin taking extra significantly?
I’d prefer to see the business have an sincere, proactive dialog about how local weather change will affect each a part of the availability chain, from barley fields to water sources to packaging supplies. Via Origin Inexperienced and our Gold member standing, Eire is charting a sustainable path ahead, and we’d like to see the broader spirits world undertake related commitments. We have to transfer past consciousness and decide to measurable actions that cut back emissions, assist regenerative agriculture and defend biodiversity.
Collaboration is crucial as a result of no single distillery can sort out these challenges alone. Sharing improvements, investing in sustainable forestry and farming and prioritizing round economies ought to grow to be customary observe. In the end, we owe it to future generations to steward the surroundings as rigorously as we craft our spirits.
What recommendation would you give to different founders making an attempt to stability craft and conscience with out diluting both?
Having an ideal product and doing good can go hand in hand when guided by the identical values. Prioritize high quality and authenticity in your product, whereas embedding sustainable practices into what you are promoting mannequin in ways in which really feel pure and doable. Don’t attempt to do all the things without delay; concentrate on significant, measurable steps that suit your scale and story. At Teeling, we have now prioritized sustainability from the start by incorporating rainwater harvesting, utilizing on-site wells and repurposing extra power from manufacturing to warmth our customer middle.
With one-third of shoppers globally now looking for out manufacturers that assist protect clear water, it’s extra vital than ever for enterprise house owners, particularly distilleries that rely closely on water, to take motion. Our efforts not solely cut back our environmental affect but additionally deepen our connection to the town of Dublin and the neighborhood that helps us. Right now, sustainability is not only a bonus or one thing that’s good to have—it’s important to constructing lasting development and belief.
Are there explicit applied sciences or improvements, both in distilling or sustainability, that you simply’re particularly excited to discover subsequent?
At Teeling, we’ve already made progress by switching to bottles made with 75 p.c recycled glass, that are totally recyclable. However packaging is an space the place we consider there’s nonetheless room to enhance. We’ve redesigned our labels and closures to remove pointless plastics and foil, and we’ve adopted lighter-weight glass the place attainable to assist cut back emissions throughout transport.
These adjustments are a part of a broader effort to cut back our environmental affect throughout the complete lifecycle of every bottle. We’re persevering with to discover new supplies and design improvements that allow us ship the identical high-quality expertise with a lighter footprint. On the identical time, we’re taking a look at how sensor know-how may help us monitor power utilization and barrel maturation with larger precision, supporting each sustainability and consistency in the best way we make whiskey.
What’s a sustainability innovation you’ve seen outdoors the whiskey business that you simply suppose spirits producers ought to take note of?
One native instance that actually evokes me is what the workforce at FoodCloud has constructed right here in Dublin. They’ve created a mannequin that connects companies with surplus meals to charities in want, turning what would have been waste right into a useful resource for good. It’s a easy however highly effective concept that reveals how rethinking distribution and partnerships can have an actual social and environmental affect.
In the identical spirit, our partnership with SOLAS, a Dublin-based group supporting the town’s youth, embodies community-focused sustainability. Collectively, we champion initiatives that create significant alternatives and drive constructive native change. Within the spirits business, we regularly speak about waste when it comes to packaging or manufacturing, however there’s a lot to be taught from this type of round considering. Whether or not it’s repurposing byproducts, giving supplies new life, or driving community-led initiatives, there’s an ideal alternative to construct constructive, regenerative methods that create lasting worth.
