Cooley Distillery is an Irish whiskey

Whisky

Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...

 distillery, located on the Cooley Peninsula

Cooley peninsula

The Cooley Peninsula is a hilly peninsula in County Louth, Ireland, which includes towns such as Omeath, Carlingford and Greenore.-Geography:...

 in County Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

. It is the only independent Irish owned distillery in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, converted in 1987 from an older potato alcohol plant by John Teeling.

Current Cooley Distillery product range

• Kilbeggan - a blended whiskey, Kilbeggan was originally distilled at the Kilbeggan Distillery
  Kilbeggan Distillery
  Kilbeggan Distillery is situated on the River Brosna in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, Ireland....
  
  , which is now owned by Cooley. Best-known for its non-age stated version, in 2007, a 15-year aged version was released, and there are plans for an 18-year aged whiskey.
• Greenore - a single-grain whiskey, Greenore is made with corn
  Corn
  Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...
  
   alone, and aged in Bourbon casks. Greenore is found with several age statements; 6-, 8-, 15-, and 18-year versions are produced, although the 15- and 18-year releases are relatively rare (5,000 and 4,000 bottles, respectively).
• Connemara - a peat-smoked single-malt whiskey, Connemara is double-distilled rather than the more usual triple-distillation process that most Irish whiskeys undergo. It is aged in Bourbon casks. Several versions are found; single-cask, cask-strength, 12-year, and a high-peat version called "Turf Mór."
• The Tyrconnell - a single-malt whiskey, The Tyrconnell was acquired as a brand by Cooley in 1988 after being dormant since 1925, when the Old Watts Distillery (producers of The Tyrconnell) closed its doors.

Distillation Process

The distillery features both column still

Column still

A column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still, is a variety of still consisting of two columns invented in 1826 by Robert Stein, a Clackmannanshire distiller, and it was first used at the Cameron Bridge Grain Distillery in Fife, Scotland. The design was enhanced and...

s and pot still

Pot still

A pot still is a type of still used in distilling spirits such as whisky or brandy. Heat is applied directly to the pot containing the wash or wine . This is called a batch distillation ....

s for distillation. Unlike most other Irish whiskeys, which are usually distilled three times, Cooley's products are generally distilled twice, as the third distillation is thought to remove some of the flavor components.

Critical Acclaim

Cooley has won over 300 medals since opening. Other awards they have received include "European Distiller of the Year" in 2008 and 2009 and "Distillery of the Year" in 2008 from the International Wine and Spirit Competition

International Wine and Spirit Competition

The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine competition founded in 1969 by the [German/British] oenologist Anton Massel.. Each year the competition receives entries from over 80 countries worldwide. The awards given by the competition are considered to be some of the highest...

, and "Distillery of the Year" in 2010 from Malt Advocate magazine.

Individual item awards for Cooley's products include an IWSC "Best in Class" for Kilbeggan in 2005, an IWSC Gold Medal for The Tyrconnell in 2004 IWSC Gold Medal and Best in Class in 2010 for Greenore, and a World Whiskeys Awards Best in Class in 2010 for Greenore.

See also

• Irish Whiskey
  Irish whiskey
  Irish whiskey is whiskey made in Ireland.Key regulations defining Irish whiskey and its production are established by the Irish Whiskey Act of 1980, and are relatively simple...
  
  
• Irish whiskey brands
• Whiskey
• Cask
  CASK
  Peripheral plasma membrane protein CASK is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CASK gene. This gene is also known by several other names: CMG 2 , calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase 3 and membrane-associated guanylate kinase 2.-Genomics:This gene is located on the short arm of...
  
  
• Distillation
  Distillation
  Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
  
  
• Master blender
  Master blender
  A master blender is an individual who decides on the composition of blended spirits. For example, in the Scotch whisky industry, master blenders choose which single malts and grain whiskies are combined to make particular blended whisky. An important objective is often to maintain consistency over...
  
  

External links

• Cooley Distillery official site