Cooley Strikes Gold in New York and LA

Press Release

Tuesday 30th June 2009

Cooley Strikes Gold in New York and LA

Irelands Independent Whiskey Distiller Wins 8 Gold Medals at 2 US Spirits Competitions

Cooley Distillery, Ireland’s only independent whiskey distiller, won eight Gold Medals including five Best in Class at two separate spirits competitions which took place in New York and Los Angeles recently.

Cooley entered the prestigious Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition for the first time this year while they were invited to take part in the inaugural NY Spirits Competition by its founder spirits writer Andre Levy.

The LA International Wine & Spirits Competition, which celebrated its 70th year in 2009, judges over 4,000 wines and spirits each year from around the globe. The LA IWSC is renowned for its integrity and professionalism and in its first year entering the competition Cooley was awarded four Gold Medals including two Best in Category for its Kilbeggan Irish whiskey and Connemara Peated Single Malt.

In New York, Cooley collected a further three Gold Medals and Best in Class awards.  The inaugural New York Spirits Competition (NYSA) assembled a distinguished judging panel composed of members of the on and off-trade community. The judges scored each brand in a blind tasting and again Cooley’s quality shone through with three of its Malts, Connemara Cask Strength, Connemara 12 Year Old and Tyrconnell Single Malt, winning Gold Medals and Best in Class.

“This year we chose to test our whiskeys at some new Spirits Competition outside of the usual events” comments Jack Teeling, Sales & Marketing Director for Cooley Distillery. “We are delighted that our international reputation stood up to the challenges of these new competitions and that not only our Malts but also our Kilbeggan blended whiskey emerged as a Gold Medal winner and the Best in its Class. The US market is now the largest market for Irish whiskey and our performance in these competitions helps reinforce the reputation of Cooley’s whiskeys to the US trade and consumer. ”

For More Information:

Jack Teeling                                                                +353-1-8332833

Sales & Marketing Director

 David O’Siochain                                                         +353-1- 6496322

Pembroke Communications

Notes to Editors

Cooley Distillery which is based in Louth was named World Distiller of the Year last November at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London.

 The Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition annually judges 4,000 wines and spirits from around the globe.  The competition celebrated its 70th year in 2009.  Around 100 international experts participate in the judging at Fairplex. Since its inception, the competition has maintained the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. For further information visit http://www.lawinecomp.com.

 Cooley’s winners in this year’s LA IWSC include:

o        Gold & Best in Category – Connemara Peated Single Malt

o        Gold & Best in Category – Kilbeggan Finest Irish whiskey

o        Gold – Connemara Cask Strength

o        Gold – Connemara 12 Year Old

o        Silver – Tyrconnell Single Malt

 The New York Spirits Awards was founded in 2009 by two industry veterans, Dori Bryant, President of the Polished Palate, and Adam Levy, spirits writer. The NYSA is dedicated to finding and honouring the very best of class in the spirits industry. The New York Spirits Awards (NYSA) is a competition that consists solely of judges who interact on a daily basis with the most valuable and ultimate decision-maker, the consumer. The judges are buyers from top retail stores, mixologists, bar chefs and sommeliers, bar owners & managers and those who purchase spirits for the hospitality industry. For further information visit http://www.nyspiritsawards.com.

Cooley’s winners in at the NYSA competition include:

Gold & Best in Class – Connemara Cask Strength
Gold & Best in Class – Connemara 12 Year Old
Gold & Best in Class – Tyrconnell Single Malt

The announcement of a new limited edition Balvenie is always eagerly awaited here in Dufftown. Last year’s RumCask was extremely well received. What has been chosen to succeed it? We want Warehouse 24 members to be the first to know, so we can now reveal that this year’s limited edition is;

NEW LIMITED EDITION ANNOUNCED
Our Malt Master has revealed the successor to last year’s limited edition release. The Balvenie Madeira Cask is a spicy counterpoint to the rich sweetness of last year’s RumCask. Available in selected shops from September and being bottled right now, the new Edition is finished in casks that once held Madeira, the fortified wine from Portugal’s Atlantic archipelago.  The Balvenie Madeira Cask is the latest in a series of six 17 Year Old limited edition releases by The Balvenie Distillery Malt Master, who retains a passion for experimentation even after 30 years in the role. Each year’s edition has used different cask types to create a new expression of The Balvenie for limited release. David Stewart describes his latest release as having extracted some wonderful rich spice and distinct raisin flavours from the Madeira cask. The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17 Year Old provides a fascinating contrast to the sweeter RumCask, complementing beautifully The Balvenie’s uniquely honeyed character.

Please visit the Balvenie at http://www.thebalvenie.com/

Released in late 2008 this new variant of Arran is made with peated malt; the original owners of the distillery simply did not believe in peated whiskies and never made a peated whisky. The current owners feel differently. At 4 years old this single malt follows two recent trends; a move towards selling whiskies at a youngish age and of describing them as a work in progress although the later descriptor is my own observation. As a bonus to a rare variant this bottling is also from a single ex American bourbon cask. “The Peated Arran”. The nose is fragrant with heather, sweet wine, mild juniper, sea breeze, malt and peat smoke (also bandages and green cereals). With water there is increased peat smoke characteristics and a dramatic jump in the green notes; sweet cut grass, muesli and fresh hay and tea/leather however neatly integrated is vanilla and honey. The taste is strong revealing peated malt in spades with a hint of varnish followed by crisp dry clean malt with a cut grass ending. With water warm oily sweet notes are in the foreground to start followed by a gentle peat smoke delivery and then good malt. This is very nice with loads of character; no a boring dram and no signs of any problems (no off notes). The finish is quite long and is of light peat smoke, vibrant crisp clean malt and at the very end more peat smoke and bitter tea/wood/oak.

It speaks well of Isle of Arran Distillery that such a young whisky has so much character and a lack of off notes.

Score 85 Points

£42 at Loch Fyne Whiskies http://www.lfw.co.uk/

Happy Canada Day!

Federal Wine & Spirits
Blackadder Single Malts

New Releases

“Blackadder’s bottlings tend to sell out immediately. The sort of whiskies Robin Tucek has always sold are now in vogue and where the interest among whisky enthusiasts increasingly lies.” – Whisky Magazine

This week we are getting a new batch of single malts from Blackadder, We’ll have 12 expressions but all in small quantity only mostly12 bottles, but some as few as six bottles, Judging by their rarity and past I feel these will sell out very quickly.

Most bottlings are Raw Cask (Cask Strength,) three at 46%- 45. I have tasted most of these single malts . The quality is fantastic . Some bottlings are from closed distilleries and are hard to find bottlings sought out by whisky fanatics.

Blackadder is a samall, hand-crafted brand little known to the general public but highly prized by malt connoisseurs. The Raw Cask line is as close to tasting single malts direct from the cask. Adding water to these cask strength single malts makes them bloom in aroma and flavor. Then you will really taste the quality and the depth of these whiskies.

Peat Reek 46% $76.99
Aberlour 17 Y.O. 46% $107.99
Auchroisk 18 Y.O. 46% $110.00
Lochranza 11 Y.O. 53.6% $120.00 (Isle Of Arran) 
Isle of Jura 14 Y.O. 55.6% $125.00
Tomatin 17 Y.O. 59.1% $145.00 
Balmenach 17 Y.O. 57.4% $165.00
Linkwood 17 Y.O. 56% $165.00
Mortlach 17 Y.O. 58.4% $175.00
Lochside 26 Y.O. 55.8% $265.00 (Closed Dist.)
Blairfindy 31 Y.O. 43% $275.00
Glenury Royal 34 Y.O. 47.7% $325.00 (Closed Dist.) 

Joe Howell
Please pass this on to friends interested in interesting whisky

Joseph Howell
Federal Wine & Spirits
Email: joe@federalwine.com
Phone: (617) 367-8605

Web: http://www.federalwine.com/

Whether you’re just getting into whisky or are a connoisseur looking to expand your collection, the Gordon & MacPhail Single Malt Scotch Tasting on July 13th is a must. Held at Hollywood’s Blue Palms Brew House from 7-9 p.m., this tasting offers a rare opportunity to try nine different single malts from one of Scotland’s best kept secrets in fine whisky.

And while we have you, mark your calendar for L.A.’s first Spirits Festival next fall at the Renaissance Hotel at Hollywood and Highland. November 14 from 6-10 p.m. Stay tuned for more details…

Gordon & Macphail Single Malt Scotch Tasting, K&L Hollywood: Monday, July 13th 7-9 p.m. ($40.00)

Come join the K&L crew for a very special event at Hollywood’s central stage for spirits tastings: the Blue Palms Brew House. For more than 110 years, Gordon & MacPhail has been carefully selecting, filling, maturing and bottling malt whiskies for your enjoyment, remaining independent and family-owned throughout its long history. Now the proud owners of Benromach Distillery in Forres, the company is also distilling the precious Benromach Spirit again and is bringing this exceptional single Speyside malt – a secret for far too long – to whisky drinkers the world over. This wonderful establishment is still based at its original location in Elgin, and it has become ubiquitous with the world’s finest single malts. G&M nearly single-handedly developed the single malt category by trusting the quality of the distillers when everyone else was blending their malts. Their unique method of buying new whisky and aging and bottling the malt themselves has given u View recent emailed offers on our Email Archive page.

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com/
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Springbank 11yo 1997/2009 ‘Madeira Wood’ (image reference http://chwisgi.com/)

 A new bottling released by Springbank Distillery at the same time at the 18yo, while many distillers have finished their whiskies in ex Madeira cask Springbank have opted for the entire maturation to be in Madeira wood. The nose is very sweet and rich with a background of tea, mild damp tobacco and a slight rich mustiness. Traces of peat smoke or bandages? The nose is very complex and sweet (as usually is the case when single malts and Madeira wood meet) and pleasant. The taste is strong with the distinctive Springbank flavour (almost like wet cotton) jumping out layered with intense sweetness (fruit cake, mild smoke & apricots). The finish is very sweet at first followed by malt, mild smoke and a creamy mouth feel plus citrus, dryness and oak. The experience is quite long and warming. At the very end you are left with mildly bitter oak and malt.

 Bottled without chill filtration or the addition of caramel

C$84 

Score 86 Points

An unusually old bottling from the famed independent bottlers in Elgin, Gordon & MacPhail, an aged Strathisla-Glenlivet. The nose has slight marmite, tinned fruit, cherries, damp leather, honey and jam. The taste is of black pepper, fruit, wet straw, Oxo cubes, tobacco, diesel and oak followed by a very slight hint of cheese, lychee and fruit tarts. The finish is minty intermingled with oak and the resurfacing of the slight hint of cheese. The finish is very long and after a few minutes the predominate characteristic is very dry bitter oak with a mild hint of soap.

Score 82 Points

£143 at the Whisky Exchange http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/

A single cask release from the independent bottler A. Dewar Rattray of Clynelish 10yo from a refill sherry cask and bottled at cask strength of 59.7%. The nose is sharp with notes of a lumber yard along with sweet fruit (raisins & oranges), malt, sweet peas, alfalfa, leather and vanilla honey. The alcohol is quite strong. With water the ‘green’ notes of sweet peas, alfalfa etcetera are heightened with a back ground of more fruit, jam and citrus. After a few minutes in the glass the fruit notes grow along with the back ground leather notes. The taste is quite strong with malt, fruit and leather, also clover honey arriving late in the taste which is a pleasant surprise and immediately followed by a great delivery of honeyed malt which follows by a reappearance of the green notes. Multi faceted! The taste with water is distinctly more mellow and rounded with a good mouth feel and shades of tobacco and oak. The finish is quite long with a jumble of the afore mentioned characteristics, sweet malt and a pungent dry oak are in evidence. A final appearance by the green malt.

C$85

Score 86 Points

http://www.adrattray.com/

A. Dewar Rattray, the independent bottler, has released this old individual cask bottling of Bunnahabhain without any tinkering (no chill filtration or adding caramel for color).  A wonderful nose of fragrant delicate oak, sweet sherry wine, Christmas cake, toffee and rich fruit. Very mild tea and dark chocolate. This is by no means a typical Islay nose however it is sensational. The taste is warming with sweet cherries (and also slightly sour), banana, orange, tobacco and a slight hint of leather. The finish is very long with the oak being slightly dominate over the sweet fruit and sherry backed by slightly sour cherries. A distinct absence of any off notes and a great example of a great cask.

529 bottles worldwide, pity.

C$240

Score 90 Points

http://www.adrattray.com/

WI will be absent for a few days, a few posts featuring tasting notes will pop up, back into the swing of things this coming Friday.

Slainte.