Cù Bòcan Signature Single Malt Whisky. Highland Scotch Whisky Matured in Virgin Oak, Bourbon and Sherry Casks. 46% Alcohol/Vol 70cl Glass Bottle in Gift Box, Whiskey Gift Sets for Men, Scottish Gifts

Product Information

Tomatin Cù Bòcan gets its name from a legendary spectral dog named Cù Bòcan. Tale tells that the dog has haunted the Inverness based Tomatin village for many years. According to the legend, the dog dissolved as smoke over the moorlands when a distillery worker tried to touch it. As we walked along, Duncan pointed out areas where some of the wolf traps still exist. Apparently wolves used to be a major problem in Scotland. In fact, King James VI made it compulsory that wolves be hunted three times a year to get their populations down. But apparently they did their jobs a little too well. only to see the ghostly spectre - Cù Bòcan - dissolve before his eyes leaving nothing but a vacuum of deathly silence and an inky blue cloud of smoke, soon spirited away across the peat moorland… Each Cù Bòcan Single Malt offers an exploration in the subtleties of smoke, the character of the casks and the mastery of maturation. The range is always non-chill filtered and natural in colour. Cù Bòcan 15 Year Old, 2022 Edition, has been bottled at 50% Abv. and is a limited batch release with only 3,000 bottles available worldwide.

Cù Bòcan has stalked residents of the remote Highland village of Tomatin for centuries, his legend embellished by the hellhound's increasingly fractious behaviour.Regarding the vintages: Cù Bòcan was initially released in 2013 and it was thought the oldest peated spirit available was eight years old, until Charlie Edwards, the production manager at the time, brought over three samples of whisky from 1989 that were noticeably peated. After a little digging it became clear a batch of peated barley had been delivered to the distillery by accident in the summer of that year, but rather than turn it away, they distilled it. These were the last three casks and were bottled as the Cù Bòcan 1989. Scott concludes the 1988 and 1990 followed, but these were unpeated finished in casks from an Islay distillery. When released around 2013, Tomatin were already in the process of rebranding themselves, mixing up and expanding their own core range, choosing a more distinctivebottle design rather than the generic one they used, and I feel it reflected on those first Cù Bòcan releases as well. They were out there, and while the labelling was pretty recognisable with the image of smoke and the ghost dog (which Cù Bòcan translates to from Gaelic, hinting at the story of there being a ghost dog roaming the premises of the distillery), I had the impression Tomatin didn’t really know where they could take things with this range. A wood bomb on arrival. Old, dry smoke and a very dry mouthfeel. Nuts and dried fruit. Adding water cranks things up to 11, yet it also reveals that slightly delicate mixture of subtle smoke and fruit from the spirit rather than the cask. The finish is long, deep and oaky, again with the wood polish and a cold, second-hand smoke. On second thoughts, do buy it, because either way you’ll end up with an excellent evolution on something you already love.

Scott Adamson, our Blender and Global Brand Ambassador, says of the release: “Whisky matured in rum casks can be incredible, but rum casks are notorious for their variable quality and securing a consistent supply is almost impossible. Therefore, this permanent addition to the Cù Bòcan range will be released in batches. With each batch we will explore casks from across the Caribbean, each with their own unique origin, history, and influence. Batch #1, distilled on the 10th of December 2010, has been finished in a mix of rum casks from Guyana and Barbados. These islands are known for the use of molasses and pot still distillation. Producers in Barbados, regarded by many as the birthplace of rum, blend pot still and column still rums making the island worthy of its reputation for well-aged, balanced expressions. The casks sourced from Barbados provide a range of fresh tropical fruits and invigorating maritime notes. Known for the famed Demerara River, Guyana is home to some of the fullest bodied rums in the Caribbean. These casks have added more depth and warming spice.” And what you’ll find about these old tales is that many times, they are cautionary tales - such as the version I just read which is a cautionary tale of what can happen when you give in to the devil. However, when trying to put the pieces of the Cù Bòcan puzzle together, there were a few bits that didn’t really fit. For instance: Tomatin started with the production of peated malt in 2005, yet there are several ‘vintage’ Cù Bòcan releases from the late Eighties. How do they fit in? And has the ppm always remained at the same level, as I clearly remember trying some more peat forward expressions as well. Going through several of my Malt Whisky Yearbooks didn’t shed new light on this, so instead I approached Tomatin’s blender and global brand ambassador Scott Adamson for some clarification. This cleared up a few things. Summarising what he had to say, it comes down to what follows.But with all the legends around witches, there is another theory as to where this ghost dog comes from. How can it be that we hear nothing from Tomatin’s Cù Bòcan series beyond their playful Creations series and then boof… a 15 year old oloroso-matured banger from nowhere? It’s the kind of unexpected release that makes you excited for what the future can hold. So who is Cù Bòcan? Is it the spirit of one of the Hunter’s dogs, left searching for the Witch of Laggan? Is it the last wolf of Scotland, haunting the area of it’s final demise? Or is it just people with a wild imagination, or just a fun ghost story to tell? Tomatin, please tell us you dedicate more than a single week per year to making this spirit these days. This is the Highland style we need more of. Introducing a brand new age stated whisky to the range… Cù Bòcan 12 Year Old. For this release we’ve used Caribbean rum casks for maturing this expression which, combined with our subtly smoky spirit, has resulted in flavours of grilled pineapple, sea salt, ginger and white chocolate. The perfect dram for the Summer, Cù Bòcan 12 Year Old transports us to long Scottish Summer nights, spent with friends by a campfire on the beach.

The decision was made to repeat this ‘week of peat’ every year during the last week of production, albeit that since then they have changed the barley variety, ppm and even the cut point and yeast strain from time to time. Cu Bocan is a lightly peated whisky from the Tomatin distillery, matured in three types of casks: virgin oak, ex-bourbon and ex-Sherry. Peated to 15ppm. Taste: here peat and smoke is much more intense, but writing a more intense, I mean simply palpable, it is still very mellow and subdued, we are still accompanied by citruses and spices, besides cloves we have also ginger, the initial sweet maltiness changes towards the spiciness, there is pepper, sweet chili, a bit of oak, we also have honey accents, vanilla and nuts Suddenly, every distillery I was visiting was filling me full of great story ideas. And when I returned home, I started to research some of the fun stories I had scribbled down in my notes (okay, I actually used Google Keep, but stay with me).

That my friends, was a story I read on the side of a box of Cù Bòcan Single Malt Whisky, produced by the Tomatin distillery in a small village nestled in the Highlands of Scotland. This is likely Cù Bòcan, and Tomatin for that matter, at its boldest. This is hefty and big, quite unlike any Cù Bòcan I’ve tried before. Some will say, and rightfully so, that indeed there is a lot of emphasis on the cask. Very good quality casks, mind you, and while this is indeed heavy on cask influence, somehow it’s layered, complex and even a bit delicate. Kudos is due to whoever managed to marry cask and spirit here, as, despite all the wood, they’ve managed to balance it out, allowing just enough of the slightly smoky and fruity Cù Bòcan character to shine through. Each Cù Bòcan Single Malt aims to open up the world of lightly peated whisky, offering an exploration in the subtleties of smoke, the character of the casks and the mastery of maturation. The range is always non-chill filtered and natural in colour. Cù Bòcan 12 Year Old has been bottled at 46% Abv. and is a limited batch release. The current Cù Bòcan range now comprises of Cù Bòcan Signature, matured in Bourbon, Oloroso Sherry and North American Virgin Oak casks, the Creation series, Cù Bòcan 12 Year Old and Cù Bòcan 15 Year Old, matured fully in Oloroso Sherry casks, which was released late last year. Cù Bòcan Signature, and 15 Year Old were recently awarded “DOUBLE GOLD” at the San Francisco World Spirit Competition 2023, Creation #5 was awarded “GOLD”.