One of Cooley’s finest efforts. Moderate doses of kiln smoke, dried turf, and kippers, tamed by vanilla cream, barley, and a buttery, olive oil texture. Subtle spices dance on the palate. Lingering smoky, white pepper finish. Islay meets Ireland.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Winter 2005)

The oldest official Connemara expression from Beam Suntory delivers the peat sublimely, judiciously balanced with estery notes of half-time oranges and pineapple rings, and an inescapable note of nail polish remover. It’s bright, beautiful whiskey, rich with piquant orange and dark vanilla, smooth and packed with flavor, which softens to fresh cream and spiced toffee. Ebbs away with dignity, trailing creaminess and intense fruit in its wake. €178

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Summer 2015)

Bog oak is oak preserved in Irish peat bogs for 5,000 years, and for this whiskey, cask heads made of it are used for maturation. The whiskey is 3 year old Turf Mor, only a year older, then mixed with some older whiskeys, and it's intriguing. This has all the oily, burning dust, smoky notes of a standard Connemara, but the rubbery youthfulness of Turf Mor is gone, and this is sweet, with orange notes, and a long, peaty, sweet finish. € 250

Reviewed by: Dominic Roskrow (Spring 2012)

Connemara’s wild west coast landscape is a world away from this peated whiskey’s production at Cooley Distillery on Ireland’s east coast. Greater smoke than Original; lemon and fresh cream translate into lemon lozenges and sherbet, with tangy tropical fruits and well-balanced smoke lasting throughout the finish.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2017)

Connemara is the peated Irish whiskey from the Cooley distillery, and this one is their (and Ireland’s) smokiest offering yet. This is the first time I ever detected dung (albeit subtly) in a whiskey — and only on the nose, thankfully. It’s curiously intriguing. The style of peat used, along with the youth of this whiskey, has a distinct impact of the whiskey’s flavor. It’s sweet and smoky, which works well. Throw in some bacon fat, diesel oil smoke (like at a boat dock), anise, ginger, honeyed malt, barley, lime, and pear. Underneath all that peat lies what seems like a fairly young whiskey, because it is very brisk and vibrant, but not excessively so. Bonus points for distinctiveness.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2011)

Exudes beautiful soft peat notes, barley sugar, and apple-cinnamon granola. Light lemon and honey, with a delightful growth in apple crumble flavors, golden syrup, and more peat smoke and orchard fruits on the finish. Drink this neat.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2017)

A peat-smoked malt whiskey from Ireland’s Cooley distillery, similar to many smoky Scotch whiskies. The difference to me is that I don’t get as much of the seaweed and coastal notes often found in the Scotch whiskies. Still, there is plenty going on in this whisky, including a lovely creamy vanilla and honeyed malt underbelly to tame the smoke. It reveals more of itself with the addition of water. If there were peat-smoked Lowland Scotch whiskies, they might taste like this.

Reviewed by: John Hansell (Spring 2005)