Future Cooley Releases

[IainB]

So what would we like to see from Cooley over the next few years?

Personally, much as I love to see single casks and limited editions, I also love to see a good wide core range of different ages and expressions. I'd love to see along these lines someting like:

A regular 15yo and / or 18yo Connemara - I think the Connemara is ageing really well and I really like the 18yo amontillado finish. That might not be possible as a regular release but a good quality 15/18 should be.

A regular 14yo Tyrconnell - of all the single casks I've tried I thought the 14yo from a few years back (can't remember which one) was outstanding.

A 12yo high malt content (70/80%) blend with some (maybe 25-33%) sherry cask?

For less regular bottlings:

An older (maybe 16) madeira finish Tyrconnell?

And I can't wait to try a 21yo Connemara - I've yet to meet a peated 21to whisk(e)y I didn't like!

That's my dream list, for the moment!

Oh and I almost forgot.. .... some older SPS!!!!

[Fionnán]

i'd also like to see some older SPS and luckily, this seems to be obviously in the pipeline anyway so we can sit back comfortably and await getting exactly what we want.

As for Connemara, i'd love to see something along the lines of what Aberlourr did with A'bunadh. i.e. a vatting of really old connemara (lets say 21) with some very young spirit and maybe a little touch from some interesting casks in the middle. The young connemara has always had a fantastic profile and i know jim murray and noel sweeney go on about the need for the young spirits inclusion in the normal and cask strength bottlings. I' love to see what this can do if given some real oak backbone etc with, again, maybe some middle aged casks with a possible hint of an odd barrel finish, bottled at a good strong ABV to give it that high alcohol tactile texture

[JohnM]

I'd also like to see them bottle some of the old Powers and Bow Street whiskey they have...

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

All good recommendations there ... I'd love to see a Connemara fully matured in Sherry cask and not just finished. And older Connemara would be great too but I just shudder at the thoughts of price

I'd also like to see them bottle some of the old Powers and Bow Street whiskey they have...

They also have some really old Kilbeggan casks also but seemingly it is all under proof.

So question??? can a distillery bring under proof whiskey up to legal ABV by adding enough high abv to get desired alcohol vol of over 40% or is this not legally possibly.

[JohnM]

I always thought it was allowed and practiced to blend out lower strength "whiskies".

And since ethanol is just a chemical compound, why not just lob some of that in to raise the abv? I'm sure this is not legal, but can't see how it would make much of a difference.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

I always thought it was allowed and practiced to blend out lower strength "whiskies".

And since ethanol is just a chemical compound, why not just lob some of that in to raise the abv? I'm sure this is not legal, but can't see how it would make much of a difference.

I suppose the big problem would be how could they retain as much of the old style as possible so maybe we'll have to wait for one of Alex's SPS's to mature enough before they think of anything.

Maybe they could donate the John's Lane and Bow street stuff to the society as I'm sure it would not be sound marketing for them to be releasing a competitors historical wares

Next society bottling ... Bow Street or John's Lane

[IainB]

I really don't think they know what to do with that old stuff. Can't sell it as whiskey on it's own. Probably tastes like liquid wood at this stage.

If they blend it what do you call it? Vatted pot still?? I think also IDL may object to the use of the Powers or Jameson names. I'm not sure a young potstill whiskey from could take much of such a woody spirit being blended.

If I were them I'd sell it back to IDL, rather than dilute their own brands. Maybe the old Lockes casks could be blended with new whiskey from Kilbeggan alright.

[JohnM]

I really don't think they know what to do with that old stuff. Can't sell it as whiskey on it's own. Probably tastes like liquid wood at this stage.

If they blend it what do you call it? Vatted pot still?? I think also IDL may object to the use of the Powers or Jameson names. I'm not sure a young potstill whiskey from could take much of such a woody spirit being blended.

If I were them I'd sell it back to IDL, rather than dilute their own brands. Maybe the old Lockes casks could be blended with new whiskey from Kilbeggan alright.

I'm not sure it's all under strength. And some of it is supposed to be overaged, while some other stuff is supposed to be wonderful. They've long since taken it out of the casks, waiting to decide what to do with it. I doubt they'll do this, but what about mixing it with older Cooley malt or Cooley grain? They could then put a reasonable age statement on it. Of course, older Cooley malt is probably a bit too valuable to experiment with.

I'd love to see the grain option, with just a little bit of it, for the craic.

[IainB]

I wasn't really thinking about mixing with grain but that could well be an option. What would they call t I wonder, as in what brand name?

[JohnM]

I wasn't really thinking about mixing with grain but that could well be an option. What would they call t I wonder, as in what brand name?

Broxson's Delux

[IainB]

I wasn't really thinking about mixing with grain but that could well be an option. What would they call t I wonder, as in what brand name?

Broxson's Delux

Make it so!

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

I'm not sure it's all under strength. And some of it is supposed to be overaged, while some other stuff is supposed to be wonderful. They've long since taken it out of the casks, waiting to decide what to do with it. I doubt they'll do this, but what about mixing it with older Cooley malt or Cooley grain? They could then put a reasonable age statement on it. Of course, older Cooley malt is probably a bit too valuable to experiment with.

I'd love to see the grain option, with just a little bit of it, for the craic.

Well the Bow Street & John's lane casks released by Cadenheads were of very high Abv. So it stands to reason that these maybe also.

Sooooo ... What they could is add some of that to it and release it as a ambiguous branded Pot Still ... now we might be getting some where .... anybody listening

[IainB]

We saw the Powers and Jameson when we did the CWS Cooley trip - they had been transferred to plastic barrells as they were all well under strength. We asked Noel Sweeney about them but they weren't really sure what to do.

What was the pub where we tried the under strangth Locke's - it was like liquid wood.

[JohnM]

The Palace?

[IainB]

That's the one, I think.

By the way I'd love to see the AN Cask Tyrconnells for the CWS continue - both the 10yo and 11yo I think have been among the best Tyrconnells I've tried.

And seeing as they have the Madeira Finish Tyrconnells maybe Riverstown or Kilbeggan is where I should be looking to for Madeira Cask SPS releases.

[Fionnán]

does anyone happen to know exactly how understrength this stuff is?

[TheWhiskeyBro]

As far as I know there is a company in Scotland who can filter under proof whiskey to bring it back up to legal strength. Technically I'm sure it is possible, the more water you remove the higher the strength. The difficulty I imagine is that some of the minute flavour chemicals are water soluble, so the technical magic is how to you remove some water without losing some key flavour characteristics?

Any ideas?

Time for a technical question section in the forum, methinks!

[JohnM]

As far as I know there is a company in Scotland who can filter under proof whiskey to bring it back up to legal strength. Technically I'm sure it is possible, the more water you remove the higher the strength. The difficulty I imagine is that some of the minute flavour chemicals are water soluble, so the technical magic is how to you remove some water without losing some key flavour characteristics?

Any ideas?

Time for a technical question section in the forum, methinks!

That beer company do it. The ones who produce Tactical Nuclear Penguin. They use that freezing technique.

[IainB]

I know that in Kentucky the strength of maturing bourbon can go up rather than down as water can be lost faster than alcohol. This does not seem to be a universal phenomenon though, and can very from warehouse to warehouse and even within a warehouse. Not sure how this helps - maybe Cooley should recask the whiskey and send it to Kentucky.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

I know that in Kentucky the strength of maturing bourbon can go up rather than down as water can be lost faster than alcohol. This does not seem to be a universal phenomenon though, and can very from warehouse to warehouse and even within a warehouse. Not sure how this helps - maybe Cooley should recask the whiskey and send it to Kentucky.

True indeed but a deffinite correlation to their hot summers and tends to be the reason their whiskey matures much quicker and that is why you don't see too many american whiskeys over 2o years old ... similarly a lot of Scotch whisky matures slower due to the colder climate.

[IainB]

Well to be honest I wasn't entirely serious - if it was woody now imagine it after a few more years in Kentucky.

Also I think if you mature it off the island of Ireland it would probably cease to qualify as Irish whiskey anyway.

[DavidH]

Also I think if you mature it off the island of Ireland it would probably cease to qualify as Irish whiskey anyway.

I wondered about that before. The (Irish) law just says it has to be matured on this island for at least 3 years. It says nothing about continuing maturation elsewhere.