When Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish stormed the field in green jerseys against USC in 1977, the spectacle was unforgettable: a student-built Trojan horse rolled into the stadium, the crowd roared, and the team delivered a decisive 49–19 victory that secured a national championship.

Nearly half a century later, Teeling Whiskey is raising a glass to that moment with the second release in its Phoenix Legends series — a 16-year-old single malt finished in Marsala wine casks.

The Phoenix Legends collection debuted in 2024 with a 24-year-old single malt finished in Rivesaltes wine casks, a whiskey that was later named “World’s Best Irish Single Malt.” For the follow-up, Teeling co-founder Jack Teeling says the focus was less on age and more on flavor.

“We tasted through a lot of casks in our warehouse and were really blown away by the character of this whiskey,” Teeling explains. “This year’s release has these delicious notes picked up from the residual wine in the barrels — nutty caramel, dried cherries, crème brûlée, with chocolate and subtle hints of burnt caramel on the finish.”

A younger spirit, a longer finish

The age statement drops from 24 to 16 years, but master distiller Alex Chasko emphasizes that the decision was driven by taste, not numbers.

“When I’m making a whiskey I’m focused on flavor and aroma—the age doesn’t really factor into my decision making,” Chasko says. “The bourbon casks gave us a good base of light fruit, biscuit sweetness, and wood notes. The Marsala finish layered on caramel, spice, and umami richness. I wanted a whiskey that demanded your attention.”

The whiskey spent two years in Marsala casks — an unusually long finishing period. Because the casks were originally toasted oak, Chasko says the higher-strength spirit was able to draw out nutty, tobacco, and savory notes that deepen the whiskey’s complexity.

The Notre Dame partnership could have easily been a branding exercise, but Teeling insists that the whiskey comes first.

“For us, the Notre Dame partnership is not just about putting a logo on a bottle — it’s about bringing together two institutions with deep roots in Irish heritage, excellence, and progress,” he says. “Each release stands on its own as a whiskey first.”

That balance of heritage and innovation is central to Teeling’s broader mission of redefining Irish single malt.

Redefining Irish single malt

Irish whiskey has long been associated with smoothness and accessibility, but both Teeling and Chasko see the Phoenix Legends series as a chance to expand the category’s reputation.

“Unlike Scotch, which is often locked into certain consumer expectations, Irish whiskey still has the freedom to surprise people,” Chasko notes. “With Phoenix Legends, we’re able to take older, rare stocks and finish them in distinctive casks that bring completely new layers of flavor. It shows that Irish whiskey can be complex and bold.”

For Teeling, the audience is twofold: Notre Dame fans eager for a piece of Fighting Irish history, and whiskey collectors looking for something rare and distinctive.

“By producing something so limited, distinctive, and well-aged, we’re helping to reframe perceptions of Irish whiskey, showing that it’s not just smooth and approachable, but also layered, complex, and firmly part of the global single malt conversation,” Teeling says.