Cooley 15 Year Old 2002 Cut Your Wolf Loose Single Bourbon Hogshead Release #18 Irish Single Malt Whiskey (2025) 70cl
This little troublemaker very nearly never saw the light of day. When the cask landed from Ireland, HMRC took a look and briefly considered pouring the whole lot straight down the drain. Apparently ageing Irish whiskey within Scotland is very much not the done thing. Thankfully common sense prevailed and the whisky survived its brush with bureaucratic extinction. The ever talented Three Dogs handled the artwork this time around, delivering
something suitably mischievous for this “Cooool-ly” bottled whisky that technically wasn’t supposed to exist here in the first place.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Big apples that would make NYC jealous. Pear tarte tatin dumped under enough icing sugar to cancel school for the day. Honeycomb, malt biscuits and a gentle waxy note drifting about like a beekeeper who’s wandered into a bakery and started negotiating with the croissants.
Palate: Thick, chewy malt doing cannonballs into a pool of floral honey. Baked apples and poached pears immediately follow, causing big enough splash that would give any Irishman immediate Kiwi citizenship
Finish: Long, warm and gently peppery. Honeyed malt and lemon zest hanging around like the last people In the bar asking for another drink when the chairs are on the table... (don’t be that person)
About Cooley
Cooley Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth, Ireland established in 1987 and owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan.
The distillery was converted in 1987 from an older potato alcohol plant by entrepreneur John Teeling. On 16 December 2011 Beam Inc. announced plans to purchase Cooley for around US$95 million (€71 million); the deal closed a month later, and the distillery now belongs to Suntory Global Spirits, since Suntory bought Beam in 2014.
John Teeling bought a former State-owned industrial potato alcohol distillery in 1985. In less than two years, Teeling converted the distillery to have two column stills. In 1998, Cooley received a trophy at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) for outstanding quality, and for earning an impressive reputation over time. Cooley was the first distillery to be awarded the trophy.
On 16 December 2011 Beam Inc. announced plans to purchase Cooley for around US$95 million (€71 million). The sale closed on 17 January 2012. Beam was then purchased by Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan on 30 April 2014, and since became its Suntory Global Spirits subsidiary. Since the change of ownership, visitor access to the distillery is limited and public tours are not available.
Following the sale, John Teeling went on to found the Great Northern Distillery in the nearest town, Dundalk, and his two younger children, Jack and Stephen, established the Teeling Whiskey Company in Dublin, establishing their brands using stock acquired from Cooley under the terms of the sale agreement with Beam, while building and bringing into production the Teeling Distillery.
The distillery features both column stills and pot stills for distillation. Unlike most other Irish whiskeys, which are usually distilled three times, Cooley's products are generally distilled twice, as the third distillation is thought to remove some of the flavour components.
Cooley has won over 300 medals since opening. Other awards they have received include "European Distiller of the Year" in 2008 and 2009 and "Distillery of the Year" in 2008 from the International Wine and Spirit Competition and "Distillery of the Year" in 2010 from Malt Advocate magazine
56.9% ABV
70cl
