Irish Whiskey | 2 reviews

“This bottle is a for a special occasion!’

How many times have you looked into your collection and told yourself, or others, that exact same sentiment? I know I have many times. Which means that the opening statement this bottle can change to these bottles. The problem with this kind of thinking only exacerbates the great glass loch residing in our whiskey cabinets that Roy (Aqvavitae) references regularly. We can become hung up on hoarding these bottles while continuing to purchase new releases; some to drink right away whilst others are deposited into the for another time section. Yet others still continue to fall into the special occasion category, thereby enlarging our personal collections and the great glass loch.

This then, can lead into different whiskey drinking demographics. Those that only open a specific number of bottles at a time, say to 5 to 10 bottles, with replacements only opened when that set number is breached. 

Perhaps you are like me and suffer a bit of open bottle syndrome? Looking through my collection recently, I decided to do a bottle count. At one time I tried to keep a list of what I had and what I’d killed, but I deemed it too much hassle. So, I never really make a conscious effort to keep track of what’s on my cabinets shelves, but I was surprised that I had let my bottle count slip below the 200 mark, and of these, around 80% were open.

Now, this may seem excessive to those new to whiskey, but for those longer in the tooth in whiskey exploration, it is positively small fry compared to some. But for those newer to whiskey, you may be wondering how have you garnered this collection? That’s where the open bottle syndrome comes in.

First off, it’s clear I’m buying more than I drink. Secondly, it’s generally not long after I buy a bottle that the foil gets torn and the cork is popped. I have tried the method of not opening a new bottle until I’ve killed off a few bottles, but my sense of whiskey exploration gets the better of me and the foils get torn and corks get popped anyway. 

Personally, whiskey is a bit like watching movies. A film has to really connect with me for me to ever consider watching it a second time and so it’s rare that I watch movies over again. I prefer to continue exploring rather than looking back. Regarding whiskey, I operate in a similar manner, even if I only have a single bottle of something, it’s not long before a new bottle is purchased and my attention moves elsewhere. For me to buy a second bottle of a particular expression, the whiskey has to make a lasting imprint, otherwise I just move onto the next whiskey related whim.

Sometimes I think that a 20cl or 35cl bottle would be the perfect size for my requirements, allowing me to try and hopefully enjoy the liquid before getting the impulse to move on to another expression and continuing to broaden my whiskey horizons. Although that would limit my ability to share samples.

And then, there’s the ‘special’ bottles. What makes these particular bottles special? Maybe it’s a favourite distillery or brand? How about the cost? What about a high age statement? Potentially the rarity? More likely it’s a combination of all these reasons and more. 

Then it can be difficult to decide what the special occasion is that we will open these bottles for. Perhaps the birth of a child? A retirement? An anniversary or another landmark in our lives? Or standing in the queue of your favourite whiskey festival? Really it could be anything, but it can lead us to putting off opening these bottles that we’ve probably paid substantial amounts for just waiting for that ‘right’ moment.

Right now, I only have a few bottles unopened that I’ve put into the ‘special occasion’ category and they all seem to be all the Redbreast Sherry Single Cask releases, of which the Friend at Hand 25 year old stands out head and shoulders above the others as the really special one. Why do I feel this way about it? Well for one I know it tastes amazing as I’ve tried it a few times, it wasn’t cheap and being 1 of only 600 bottles, it’s increasingly rare. So, I’m struggling to decide when to open it, but open it I shall.

All this muddle of words brings me to the two whiskies for review today. Both of which I classified as special and limited (less than 200 bottles of each release), well aged and for me pricey enough considering my budget. 

So Archibald, what special occasions did you choose to open these on? Well one got opened on a random Saturday night at my friend Paddy’s house in Buncrana just for the sake of it and the other got opened to be shared at a recent online tasting I held, helping a few Scots see how much better Irish whiskey is compared to Scotch.

Today, we have two Cooley single malts bottled by W.M. Cadenhead’s, Dallas’ favourite independent bottler. Both were distilled in 1992.

Review

Cadenhead’s 1992 Cooley, 11yo, 162 bottles, 49.5% ABV
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The 11 year old is from the World Whiskies range and is a peated single malt. Distilled in January 1992 it was bottled in January 2019. Fully matured in a bourbon cask that gave 162 bottles at 49.5% abv. The 11 year age statement means Cadenhead’s must have moved the cask from Ireland to Scotland after 11 years giving us the low age statement as doing the maths we can see it’s actually 27 years old.

The 26 year old was part of the now defunct Gold Label range. Also a peated single malt distilled 1992 and bottled in 2018. Matured in a single bourbon barrel that gave 186 bottles at 52.3% abv. 

So I’m going by memory here….I should really write this stuff down. The 11 year old was £115 and the 26 year old was £150. Both were acquired via our very own Dallas, who passed them on at cost showing that he does indeed have a beating heart.

Nose

Fruity and peaty. Honeysuckle, peach, fresh apricot, papaya and pineapples. Candyfloss and white grape juice. Some tinned pear too. Cutting through all the fruit is a sooty and oily peat smoke. Water makes this more honeyed and also releases a chalky element with roast almonds.

Palate

Very malty and with a nice texture. Creamy and buttery. Spun sugar and tropical fruits. Pineapple again with pear and peaches. Barley sugar. Mid palate, we get a nice kick of white pepper followed by that sooty peat smoke. Water releases a little more sweetness alongside lime zest and tobacco ash. The finish is of medium length with a lingering fruitiness and peat smoke.

Score: 8/10

Review

Cadenhead’s 1992 Cooley, 26yo, 186 bottles, 52.3% ABV
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Nose

Initially very creamy and fruity. Vanilla custard, kiwi fruit and green apple skins. Candied lemon and orange peel. Garden mint alongside a subtle earthy and vegetative peatiness. Delve further and there is honey, digestive biscuits and a new leather chamois. Water brings pencil shavings, toffee sauce and releases the peat a little more.

Palate

A medium texture to this. Honey sweetness initially followed by tart granny smith apples, white grapes and kiwi fruit. Lemon and lime marmalade. Mid palate we again get a pepper spice kick along with bitter cocoa and a soft wisp of peat. Water brings out a fresh grapefruit and citrus fruit salad and lets the peat be a bit more expressive. The finish is a good length with soured fruit, vanilla, pepper and a mild ashiness.

Score: 8/10

The Dregs

Well what can I say? Do I regret opening these bottles? Absolutely not. If anything I’m left with the bittersweet knowledge that I’ve been privileged to own them, drink them and share them, but that it’ll be unlikely I can replace them. That though is part of the joy of bottles like this, as they are one offs.

It’s interesting too, that although essentially the same base distillate matured in the same way, these are two different animals. The 11 year old is a smoky yet tropical fruit bomb highlighting what a wonderful distillate Cooley could produce. It was also great to see such a positive response to this one from the Scottish contingent on the online tasting I recently held too.

The 26 year old though was a more green, herbal and savoury number, with the peat being slightly less expressive. It’s the type of dram that might challenge a few palates, but give it time and a drop of water and it really develops well.

What this really also highlights, is that we don’t really need a special occasion to open bottles like these. We make the moments special ourselves. I know from personal experience that life can change dramatically very quickly, sometimes in the blink of an eye. So why wait? Open your bottles, share them and make new memories. 

To quote Ferris Bueller: ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it’….preferably stop, look around and imbibe a special dram, Ferris would appreciate that.

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AG

Other opinions on this:

Whiskybase (11yo)

Whiskybase (26yo)

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