Cooley

Cooley stands at Riverstown on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth. It was set up in 1987 by John Teeling in a former industrial alcohol plant, and became the first new independent Irish whiskey distillery in generations. Spirit first ran in 1989.

The site has both pot stills and column stills, so it makes malt and grain whiskey. Unlike the triple distillation many associate with Ireland, its malt is usually double distilled, which gives a lighter, fruity spirit. Cooley also distils peated malt, rare in Irish whiskey, which goes into Connemara.

The main official ranges a buyer meets are Connemara, including its Cask Strength and Peated Single Malt bottlings, and Tyrconnell, a fruity single malt often seen with wine or sherry cask finishes. The distillery also made Greenore, a single grain whiskey. Since 2012 Cooley has belonged to Beam, now part of Suntory Global Spirits.

For years Cooley supplied malt and grain to other brands and to independent bottlers, so its whiskey turns up under many labels. In our catalogue you will find bottlings from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Master of Malt, The Single Cask and O'Connell Spirit Merchants, as well as Scotch Malt Whisky Society casks such as SMWS 117.1.