03/02/2026
Champions Choice was born on the turf, where courage, precision and spirit define greatness. Inspired by Ireland’s storied racing heritage, this release is a quiet celebration of patience, mastery and the long game.
Distilled at Cooley and aged for over two decades in a single hogshead, this 23-year-old Irish whiskey has been allowed the rare luxury of time. The result is a spirit that surprises: light gold in colour, richly layered on the nose with stewed dark fruits, forest honey and a fresh, peaty smokiness, before opening into fruit-and-nut toffee, lingering smoke and a finish of deep, velvety dark chocolate.
It’s a whiskey shaped by perseverance, from still to cask, from years of quiet maturation to the moment it finally meets the glass. Not one that shouts, but one that rewards attention.
“As a proud Glaswegian with an adult lifetime’s devotion to Scotch whisky, both blended and single malt, I have to swallow hard before allowing that this 23-year-old offering from the County Louth distillery is a fine discovery. Twice-distilled against the customary three for Irish whiskies, in a distillery that once produced the almost mythical potato spirit, poitin, Cooley is reminiscent of the lighter Islays and Lowland malts, and is well worth investigating. Only active since 1987, the products of the Beam Suntory-owned distillery have already won major international prizes.”
Gordon Coxhill, Whisky Enthusiast & Journalist
Single cask. Cask strength. Twenty-three years of quiet intent.
When you choose a whisky, how much does the story behind it matter to you — or is it all about what’s in the glass?
