A Peachy Whisky 🍑 Meowseum “Four Seasons” Cooley 20 Year Old

2026.10.05

In short: Meowseum “Four Seasons” Cooley 20 Year Old (2002–2023) from Whisky Find — four bourbon barrels of different character vatted together, bursting with peach. Plus the story of Cooley, the independent distillery that fought Irish Distillers’ monopoly and whose casks later helped found Teeling. From Bar Little Happiness, Hiroshima.

A bottle I met at a tasting event and stocked up on.

Peach, peach, peeeeach!!

Meowseum “Four Seasons” Cooley 20 Year Old 2002–2023

What is Cooley Distillery?

“The revolutionary who took on big capital and forced open the future of Irish whiskey”

In a word, Cooley is the revolutionary of modern Irish whiskey.

Knowing this distillery’s history makes the glass in front of you all the more precious.

Rebellion against the IDL monopoly, and the “legendary court case”

In the late 20th century, Irish whiskey was monopolised by the giant Irish Distillers (IDL).

In 1987, John Teeling stormed in as an “independent” — that was the beginning of Cooley.

In the early 1990s, IDL schemed to buy Cooley and close it down, but John fiercely resisted.

In the end, the court and the competition authority’s rulings blocked the monopoly, and Cooley kept its independence.

It is said that without this victory, today’s diverse Irish whiskey boom would not exist.

(Borrowed from the Suntory website ↑)

The sale to Beam, and passing the spirit on to “Teeling”

In 2011, Cooley was acquired by Beam (now Beam Suntory).

At that time, a remarkable condition was set.

It was “to take 16,000 casks of precious spirit with them.”

Using that inherited spirit as their capital, John’s sons founded the “Teeling Whiskey Company.”

The spirit their father made took on a new form, supporting Irish whiskey’s further rise.

---

“A melody of four seasons”

From 2002 spirit that lived through those turbulent times, Whisky Find carefully selected four casks with different characters for this bottling.

Cask type: bourbon barrel

• Spring: the brightness of flowers and perfume.
• Summer: peach and passion fruit.
• Autumn: grape juice and Chardonnay, with the richness of yoghurt.
• Winter: pine needles and clove.

These four casks were vatted together.

Limited to 252 bottles in Japan (780 worldwide).

Official tasting notes

• Nose: peach, perfume, lily, waxy, melon, vanilla, salted butter, nectar — an elegant, floral aroma

• Palate: peach, passion fruit, warm, rounded ripe fruit, wax

• Finish: ripe fruit, waxy, clove, pine needles, oily

A whisky with an adorable cat label, too.

Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum&Whisky.