A soft and delicate single malt that was made using 'Lomond Stills' at Miltonduff distillery. The stills were decomissioned in 1981. Quite sweet and spicy with citrus and orchard fruit flavours. ..
The unique aspect of this independently bottled Cooley malt is that it was matured for a period on the island of Islay off the west coast of Scotland. Islay is famous for its robust, peaty whisky, and this, albeit an Irish, is very much in that tradition. It was put in the bottle by legendary distiller Jim McEwan when he was at the Bruichladdich Distillery. Also involved was the man behind the new Waterford Distillery, Mark Reynier...
Another double-distilled Cooley malt from the Murray McDavid/Bruichladdich people. This is a vatting of 10-year-old whiskey from bourbon casks, highlighting the classic peated Cooley distillate. One of the people behind the bottlers is Mark Reynier, who is now distilling his own Irish whiskey in Waterford...
This dark whiskey was produced for the Islay Festival by Murray McDavid, who have strong links with the Scottish island's Bruichladdich Distillery. A bloodtub is a small cask, of about 30 litres, that gives the maturing spirit plenty of contact with the wood, and often a very deep colour and rich, spicy flavours. The single malt from Cooley was distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2005 at 58.5% abv. The valinch is the instrument used to take samples from the cask. When you see it in the title of a whiskey, it usually means it's drawn from the cask by a visitor to the distillery. Well worth trying...
A whiskey from Belgian bottler Nectar of the Daily Drams, who have released some great Irish whiskeys over the years. This 14-year-old, distilled in 2000, has been influenced mostly by the bourbon wood, with warm vanilla and honey...
Mostly sold out before it even reached the shops, this whiskey from an undisclosed Irish distillery (Bushmills...) was doube distilled and peated, spending 27 years in the cask. Oodles of exotic fruits, marshmallow, aniseed, spice, dark chocolate.....
Super-smooth and very soft, this is a unique blend of Yoichi malt and Coffey still malt from Nikka. Silky, malt flavours with some touches of banana, vanilla and cream. ..
Lovely and soft with delicate tropical fruits such as melon, grapefruit and pineapple. Creamy textured with some touches of vanilla, cream and honey towards the finish. ..
A very unusual whisky, the only one we have encountered where malt has been distilled via a coffey still (column still). This is light and soft with some delicate smoke, tropcial fruits, honey and bourbon-like vanilla. ..
Nikka does it again with this superb blend of malt whiskies from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries. This has silky, mouth-filling flavours of dried fruits, tropical fruits, toffee and subtle peat smoke. ..
A great little package, this is in the spicy and fruity spectrum with juicy, ripe fruit flavours, some exotic spice, aromatic wood notes and some nice sweetness. ..
So, so smoky that initially it is hard to taste anything else. A second sip, however, reveals delicious malt and citrus flavours before the smoke returns...
A rare old single pot still whiskey from the long since closed Comber Distillery in Co Down. Bottled in the 1980s and a rare chance to try an old pot still not distilled at Midleton...
This is an unsual Irish whiskey which was bottled in Germany. There are 15-year-old and 24-year-old versions. The casks used for this were actually sourced in Scotland having been exported some long time before. This was bottled some time in the early 1970s and could in theory contain whiskey from the old DWD distillery in Dublin...
Another brand that bit the dust when Beam bought the Cooley Distillery. This was produced for Marks and Spencers and was very highly thought of when available. It's an unpeated malt, fruity and moreish...
One of the best Highland malts available, awarded best in the world by Jim Murray in hios 2012 Whisky Bible. Packed with juicy, dried fruits, malty and sublte smoke flavours. ..