Cooley Distillery named European Spirits Producer of the Year for an unprecedented 4th Consecutive Year
Cooley Distillery, the multi-award winning Independent Irish whiskey distiller, continues to set the standard for excellence in European distilling, as the company was named European Spirits Producer of the Year for the fourth year in a row at the International Wine and Spirit Competition’s (IWSC) Awards banquet in London last night. This latest accolade follows Cooley’s 8 gold medal haul at the IWSC in July of this year which brought the company’s total gold medal haul to 135 over the last 10 years. As European Spirits Producer of the Year, Cooley has claimed an unrivalled 37 IWSC gold medals for excellence over the last four years. The company which has distilleries in Co. Louth and Co. Westmeath beat leading distilleries Brennerei L. Psenner (Germany), Bodegas Williams & Humbert SL (Spain), THS Bache-Gabrielsen (Norway) and Machmyra Svensk Whisky AB (Sweden) to retain its European crown.
Jack Teeling, Managing Director, commented, “To win an accolade such as European Spirits Producer of the Year once is hard enough but to win it four years in a row is unprecedented. Our continued success at International Spirits Competitions mirrors the continued success and strength of the Irish whiskey industry. An investment of €6.5 million over the last 3 years in new stills, bottling equipment, warehousing and stock has allowed us to continue to innovate and expand our range of quality whiskeys. This latest success is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all our staff. It is a further ringing endorsement on the International stage of the quality and consistency of the whiskey being produced by Cooley.” The award was accepted on the night by Noel Sweeney, Master Distiller at the 42nd IWSC Awards ceremony at the Guildhall in London. To date Cooley has won the European Spirits Producer of the Year title four times (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), been named World Distiller of the Year by the IWSC (2008) and honoured as 2010 Distillery of the Year by the Malt Advocate, the leading US whisky publication.
