It has been quite some time since I reviwed an Irish whiskey, let alone a single cask. This 2003 Irish whiskey comes from the Cooley distillery having been aged for 14 years in a refill Sherry Hogshead. Sherry cask Irish whiskey, not your average dram is it? This bottling is part of the exclusive range of whiskies bottled for the whisky barrel by the creative whisky Co. Intriguing, right? let’s try some.
Cooley 2003 14 year old Exclusive Malts [exclusive to the Whisky Barrel] , 50.5%, £47
Nose: This is indeed a sherry-centric nose, lots of wine influence from the get go, starting on red fruit (mainly sour cherries), some orange zest, leather as well, there’s a hint of sultana, and maybe some berry jam, nice and easy going nose.
Palate: Even more sherried than the nose, with wine tannins, some rubber, more berries, leather and wine-gums, it’s not very sweet, and the barley works well with the wine, spices pepper, and infused rum N’ raisin chocolate.
Finish: nuts and fruit leather.
Conclusion:
Highly drinkable, and very enjoyable as a daily dram especially if you enjoy a nice sherry influence. The sherry is not huge, but it is quite noticeanle and enough as to make it hard guessing this is an Irish whiskey. You decide if it’s good or bad. A nice example of sherried whiskey, at any rate.
Score: 84/100
Still available on TWB online store for 47 quid.