I came across this bottle of Origine Irish Whiskey on a random trip to Bevmo a few years back. It was cheap, it looked neat and I’d never had it so I bought, took it home, set it towards the back of my liquor rack and promptly forgot about it. Fast-forward 4 years and this blog is in full swing so I decided to break it out and see what I bought all those years ago which begs the big question… what is it?
From what I can find online it was made by Cooley and then bottled and distributed by Origine Spirits who seem to be out of business now. I don’t know if this is due to Beam / Suntory cutting off the Cooley supply since, according to other blogs, they had other spirits in their lineup. Maybe they just bottled mediocre stuff across the board and no one bought it? Either way they don’t exist anymore so if you find a bottle of this in the wild, and my review below intrigues you, grab it quickly because it doesn’t look like it’ll be coming around again.
Origine Irish Whiskey Info
Region: Cooley Peninsula, Ireland
Distiller: Cooley
Bottler: Origine Spirits
Age: NAS
ABV: 40%
Batch: #2
Price: $20
Origine Irish Whiskey Review
EYE
Gold
NOSE
Malt and fruit heavy nose with light notes of spice, vanilla, yellow cake and light caramel. Not incredibly complex, but enjoyable nonetheless.
PALATE
Fruit leads the way with notes of malt, caramel, toasted bananas and a nutty character all moving in to add dimension to the whiskey. A light bit of citrus and spice come through on it’s way to the finish.
FINISH
Long and grainy with notes of citrus peel and caramel syrup.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
A touch off balance with a medium body and mild smooth feel.
OVERALL
Origine Irish Whiskey is an interesting Irish Whiskey. It’s one of those situations where, despite some of its flaws, I end up kind of liking it. Of the low-priced Irish blends I have it’s the one I’ve gone back to several times since writing these notes. It has a charm and character that I don’t always find in 3rd party bottlings. It’s also a versatile whiskey; pulling double duty as a great base for classic Irish cocktails like The Tipperary or The Shamrock. It’s really nothing special, but In a strange way I’m going to miss this whiskey once the bottle is empty.
SCORE: 82/100
