Lockes Irish Whiskey

Locke's Irish whiskey gets its name from John Locke, who was one of the previous owners of the Old Kilbeggan Distillery. The Locke's Kilbeggan Distillery was first licensed in 1757 by Mathew MacManus, making it the oldest licensed distillery in the world. The next recorded owner was Patrick Brett in 1833. John Locke acquired the distillery that is situated on the banks of the river Brusna in 1843.

The distillery saw a lot of up and downs over the years and then in April 1952 the Irish government raised the spirit duty from £6.85 to £8.80 a proof gallon considerably cutting demand. By the November of 1953 Locke’s could not afford the duty to release the whisky from bond for the Christmas period and distilling ceased.

The distillery survived until November 1958 when a debenture issued to the bank in 1953 became due. Locke’s could not raise payment so the bank called in the receiver and ended 201 years of distilling history.

In 1987 the Cooley Distillery acquired Locke's Kilbeggan Distillery from its then owner Lee Mallaghan for an exchange of Cooley shares and a place on the Cooley board. Cooley restored the warehousing and used it to mature its output from its distillery at Riverstown, Dundalk.

Outside the distillery buildings the stills from the Tullamore distillery are stored. All the owners that have come and gone over the years have maintained the £5 annual distilling license which has enabled Cooley to bring Kilbeggan back to life.

Today, Cooley produces two Locke's Irish whiskies, the excellent 8 year old single malt and a premium blended whiskey.
 

• Colour: Rich, gold colour.
   
• Nose: Very aromatic nose bulging with big fruit-barley character.
   
• Palate: The barley is big and succulent. There is a copper-tanginess followed by a dry fruity flavour.
   
• Finish:: The malt is nothing short of enormous with a tangy character, vanilla essence and peaty finish.

• Colour: Gold.
   
• Nose: Sweet and malty.
   
• Palate: Sweet and smooth at first with a full malty and spicy middle and a delightful honeyed sweetness.
   
• Finish:: The powerful maltiness trickles off leaving the grain which is first noticeable as the conveyor of ex-bourbon cask vanillins. Soft, clean and quite malty with a little oloroso sherry wood.

• Connemara
   
• Tyrconnell

• Kilbeggan
   
• Inishowen
   
• Millars

• Greenore

• The Whisky Exchange
  Here you will find an excellent selection of Irish whiskey including the full range of Cooley whiskey available for UK and Worldwide delivery.
• The Drink Shop
• Waitrose

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