There is a lake at Coole Park in County Galway where W.B. Yeats counted fifty-nine swans and wrote a poem about them. This bottle takes its name from that poem. What is inside comes from a farm in County Meath, where two dairy farmers needed 231 attempts before they were happy with the taste.
The expert's description
Coole Swan Irish Cream Liqueur is an Irish Whiskyliqueur made with Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Belgian white chocolate and fresh Irish cream, bottled at 16%.
Behind the liqueur sits the family business The Scion Spirits Company, based at Otter Island in Tatestown near Navan, County Meath. Philip Brady and Mary Sadlier are dairy farmers themselves, and that is what makes the bottle interesting. Cream is the lead ingredient, not a binder. Only around four percent of milk is cream, and that is precisely the part this liqueur is built on.
The recipe reached the Irish market in March 2007. It holds fresh Irish dairy cream, Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Belgian white chocolate, water, milk protein, sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Nothing else. No artificial flavourings, and it is noticeably less sweet than most other Irish cream liqueurs. Bottling happens in Bailieborough, County Cavan. Coole Swan has taken a double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a gold in the Irish Cream category at The Liqueur Masters in 2021.
The colour is not added. That pale, almost porcelain-white tone comes from the cream, the white chocolate, the cocoa and the vanilla. The bottle itself is modelled on a nineteenth century Irish milk bottle, and the matt finish is painted onto the glass.
Tasting notes
Nose
Cocoa butter and light milk chocolate first, then vanilla custard and a touch of spice. Something nutty sits behind it, and the whiskey does not hide.
Palate
Light and creamy without turning heavy. White chocolate, vanilla and toffee apple, with a darker cocoa note and a little cinnamon towards the middle. The sweetness is kept in check.
Finish
Long and clean. Malty, faintly cooling at the very end, and no sticky film left behind.
Specifications
Name: Coole Swan Irish Cream Liqueur
Producer: Coole Swan
Region/Country: County Meath, Ireland
Type: Irish Cream Liqueur, Whisky Liqueur
ABV: 16%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: Chilled from the fridge, over ice, in coffee or in cocktails
Flavour profile
Creamy · Chocolate · Vanilla · Lightly spiced · Fresh
Did you know?
On the back of the bottle sits an embossed motif of a cat drinking cream from a bowl. The cat is called Isabella, named after the cat belonging to a Los Angeles radio host who was an early convert to the liqueur.
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