Cooley 2001, Liquid Treasures | Exclusive for Nanyang Whisky and REJO Beverages

Nose: Distinctly Irish whiskey with big fruitiness, swirls of strawberries, raspberries or some form of red berries (candied cherries? but yet, not that sweet) – rounder version of sweetness as compared to the bright tropical fruits (apples, bananas) in the creme de la crème of Irish vintages. The urban tale is that the 2001 vintages are more grassy than fruity – but this certainly proves this wrong. To me, this stands high amongst its compeers with a tinge of farmy-ness and an additional dimension of creaminess with some cake-y notes that I have not experienced in Irish whiskey to date. In short, it reminds me hugely of a Singaporean street snack: the raspberry ripple ice cream sandwiched in a slice of bread. It gets slightly yoghurty, orangey with more in the glass. 

Mouth: Starts off with big lemons and strawberries, hints of some bananas evident in Bushmills with a touch of mint/menthol notes. With water, fruit gums with some green tea at the end. 

Finish: Medium to long finish – fresh, fruity goodness.  Ends off with a tinge of grassiness / herbal notes with elderflower Ricola sweets perhaps, and to me perfectly balanced.

Another funny label. When we started this madness, you would only have found A. stags, B. pipers, C. thistle, D. nada, E. Mel Gibson, F. Jim Clarke or Jackie Stewart. Quite. Colour: light gold. Nose: grapefruit, Chablis, passion fruits, and repeat. Perfect. With water: weissbeer and grapefruit juice, plus sourdough. I'm not sure you could do greater than this. Mouth (neat): fruit bomb alert. Pink bananas, papayas, mangos, passion fruits and granny smith. From Chablis to Sancerre, or from chardonnay to sauvignon blanc. Immaculate palate. With water: a little rounder, sweeter… Do not add more than one drop of water, if I may. Other than that, this is pure sauvignon blanc. Finish: long, perfect. Comments: we've long been hoping some distinguished whiskey bottlers would add Rory Gallagher to their labels. Please! Brilliant blues… I mean Irish malt anyway.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Nose: less round and less marshmallowy. The fruitiness is more narrow and seemingly fresher (maracuja added to the mix), plus a nice hint of varnish as well. After a few minutes they seem to converge, with more vanilla cake and warming oak coming out. The bigger waxy side remains though.

Mouth: a similar mix of fruits (now more towards peaches and plums, as well as green banana and mango) with slightly less of the zesty and grassy notes. It also shows more minty and oily / waxy notes, in the direction of Clynelish. A slightly peppery hint too, with fresh oak. Nice fruit juice.

Finish: quite long, slightly drier but still fresh and fruity.

A really nice mix of vanilla roundness and (slightly brighter and juicier) fruit notes again, with an added bonus of bigger oily / waxy notes. Slightly higher complexity, hence extra points. I’m not sure whether you can still get this in Singapore. Score: 89/100