Whisky : Cooley 14 Year; The Exclusive Malts

Country/Region : Ireland

ABV : 50.5%

Cask : Refill Sherry Hogshead

Age : 14 Years (2003-2018)

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home

Nose : Sweet and sugary, there is rich honey, toasty caramel, and a pleasant bit of juniper.  The nose develops a lot over time, giving the impression of wax or oil.  Eventually it turns towards cream and fruit, such as oranges and tangerines.

Palate : Honeyed sweetness rolls across the tongue on a lovely medium—slightly oily body.  The dram is a bit hot, the alcohol content gives a notable, but not unpleasant, burn.  In the background linger faint sherry and wood spices, bits of vanilla, ginger, and musty grape skins.  It reminds me a lot of campfire roasted marshmallows with a creamy sugary sweetness and a hint of caramelization and char.

Finish : Lovely finish with subtle spice (tingling pepperiness of arugula), sweet charr, and herbal notes.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Camping in the woods; toasted marshmallows, graham crackers, and warm cider.

Notes :  This review was done totally blind.  That’s not something I often do.  This was such a chameleon, subtly switching between profiles that I had a bit of trouble pegging it down.  By the end of it my wife and I figured it was either a bourbon or something weird and Irish.  Turns out it was the ‘weird and Irish’ but not as I expected.  It faintly reminded me of the sweet spice in single pot still whiskies— I certainly did not expect this to be a single malt.  I have never had Cooley before and this was an interesting introduction.

It was not a bad blind date, but we did not really click.  The fact that the dram reminded me a great deal of a bourbon probably gives that away and explains why some local friendly bourbon drinkers gushed over it.  The honey and caramel sweetness underpinned by a bit of spice reminded me of a bourbon with a nice dose of rye in the mash-bill.  Knowing now that it was a single malt, I assume some of that spice came from the cask— or maybe the type of barley.  Certainly some of the caramel sweetness might also be a malty cereal sweetness.

The hints of smoke and caramelization gave the dram some depth, though too much of the spice remained faint and subdued in the background.  Adding water to the dram only seemed to bring out the honeyed sweetness and leave many of the other flavor notes sunk in the background.