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Release Notes
Here is a fun one from our friends at the Creative Whisky Company. They made waves last year by bottling a single barrel of Irish Malt at full strength and 13 years of age. While those details are unusual without a doubt, what shocked the whiskey world was that very humble cask (#20012) received a WHOPPING 96 points from the Whiskey Advocate. While we've become accustomed to seeing high scores in the wine world, this type of score is reserved at WA for the most special offerings and is never doled out lightly. The list of whiskies scoring above 95 points is short and reads like a list of legends. Needless to say we were sad to only acquire a few bottles of that spectacular whiskey. Luckily our good name and strong ties put us first in line when Mr. Stirk offered up a sister cask for sale in its entirety. This cask #20024 is unique, yet very reminiscent of that special beauty. The third-fill Madeira cask has still done wonders to this already spectacular malt. This is bottled at full strength and only 380 bottles were made despite the large size of the cask.
K&L
On of 380 bottles charged from 3rd Fill Madeira cask 20024 in December of 2015. Distilled on January 21st of 2002.
From the Bottle
3rd Party Tasting Notes
This 13 year old whiskey was distilled in the Republic of Ireland, North of Dublin. Being a single malt whiskey (distilled from 100 percent malted barley), it is slightly unusual from the more readily-available pot still blend that predominates the Irish Whiskey market. This cask was originally used to mature Madeira wines before being used twice for Irish Whiskey. The resulting 13 year old whiskey is rich with boiled sweets (hard candy), sweet malt and soft fruits.
From the Bottle
The Bottler: Creative Whisky Company
| Established: 2005 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Thornhill |
| → website |
Started in 2005, The Creative Whisky Co Ltd was created to continue a passion for outstanding single malt whisky. The founder/owner (solely responsible for all cask selections), David Stirk, had spent many years drinking, selling, making, finishing, packaging, talking about and writing about malt whisky.
The previous Tastings Co-ordinator & Journalist for "Whisky Magazine", David also authored the books "The Malt Whisky Guide" and "The Distilleries of Campbeltown". He also spent time with Scotland's oldest independent bottler - nosing and selecting hundreds of casks each year, a very enjoyable time in his life.
He has travelled the world hosting tastings and masterclass and is, perhaps, infamous, more for his jokes than his whisky. His strategy is always to enjoy whisky and at the same time provide informative, yet, humerous, tastings and hopefully anyone attending will like at least one of the whiskies.
We bottle a range of great single malt whiskies aged from between five and forty years or even older. All our whiskies are single cask expressions exlusively bottled to give you a unique, personally crafted whisky experience.
The previous Tastings Co-ordinator & Journalist for "Whisky Magazine", David also authored the books "The Malt Whisky Guide" and "The Distilleries of Campbeltown". He also spent time with Scotland's oldest independent bottler - nosing and selecting hundreds of casks each year, a very enjoyable time in his life.
He has travelled the world hosting tastings and masterclass and is, perhaps, infamous, more for his jokes than his whisky. His strategy is always to enjoy whisky and at the same time provide informative, yet, humerous, tastings and hopefully anyone attending will like at least one of the whiskies.
We bottle a range of great single malt whiskies aged from between five and forty years or even older. All our whiskies are single cask expressions exlusively bottled to give you a unique, personally crafted whisky experience.
from Creative Whisky Company
The Distillery: Cooley Distillery
| Established: 1987 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Cooley Distillery, Riverstown, Cooley, Co. Louth, Ireland |
| → website |
What makes Cooley"s whiskey distillery distinctive is their use of small copper pot stills with very large necks. These cause the spirits to take 50 percent longer to pass through, and the distillers believe that the result is a more refined product. In addition, many Cooley brand whiskeys are distilled only twice as opposed to the more common Irish method of distilling the spirits three times. This gives Cooley"s products much more flavor than most Irish whiskeys. The whiskeys are matured in the 200 year old granite warehouses of Kilbeggan Distillery located in County Westmeath, some 60 miles away.
Cooley produces malt, grain, and blended whiskeys, as well as producing whiskey"s for other companies to brand, market and sell.
The distillery uses only Irish barley and has its own spring water source coming from the Sliabh na Gloch river high up in the Cooley Mountains.
The distillery produces Kilbeggan and Lockes whiskeys, as well as Connemara single malt, Ireland"s only peated single malt whiskey, Tyrconnell single malt and Greenore, Ireland"s oldest single grain whiskey. Other products include Michael Collins single malt, and a Michael Collins blended version. Cooley is the distillery that produces Origine Irish Whiskey sold in the US at Albertson Supermarkets.
Cooley Distillery is the only independent, Irish-owned whiskey distillery in Ireland, converted in 1987 from an older industrial potato ethanol plant by John Teeling. The Distillery is located on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth on Ireland"s east coast.
Trivia:
- Cooley"s products have won over 100 awards in the past ten years, including gold medals at all the top spirit competitions.
- Cooley was the first Irish distillery awarded for outstanding contribution to the spirits industry in the International Wine and Spirit Competition.
from Wikipedia