Cooley

Cooley Distillery is the only independently Irish-owned whiskey distillery in Ireland. It was founded in 1987 when John Teeling bought the former state-owned alcohol plant on the Cooley Peninsula and converted it into two distilleries-a pot still and a patent still operation. The company takes its name from the location of the distillery at the foothills of the Cooley Mountains in County Louth. Acquisitions included the assets of the old A.A. Watt Distillery in Co. Derry (established in 1762) and John Locke and Co. of Kilbeggan (established in 1757); the latter is the oldest licensed distillery in the world. The company now produces three styles of single malt whiskey, several blends, and a small batch single grain. Distillation continues to take place at the Cooley Distillery with the cooperage and ageing cellars in the John Locke’s Distillery in Kilbeggan.