Wolfhound Whiskey and other Irish ephemera

I recently picked up yet another Irish whiskey blend from the Cooley distillery.  Wolfhound Irish whiskey.  I think it is a good, standard Cooley blend.  Nothing unusual from Cooley, somewhere between Irish Manor, Millar's, and Michael Collins.  I like the price, it was discounted to 16.99.  I also like the labeling.  The wolfhound is the "gentle giant" (as the label declares), and the flavor is large but mellow.  So it works.  It is also classier than a lot of these blends.  Like Feckin' or Danny Boy.  It is also honest.  It states on the label that it comes from the Cooley distillery.  I would like to believe that this is the sort of bottling that will become a classic in time.

But it won't.  Because Cooley was bought by Jim Beam, who is closing the spigot to third party bottlings.  I understand the business decision behind it.  I just wish this label would survive because I thought it was a timeless classic.  Oh well.

Speaking of timeless classic Irish whiskey, Paddy Irish whiskey has lost distributorship in the US.  So if you are like me and you love it, and you find a few bottles collecting dust on a shelf in a store somewhere, snatch them up.  Who knows when Paddy will reach our shores again?