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That is the reason why this single malt whisky with no age statement has been peated to 15 ppm. Tomatin makes a peated expression for one week every year instead of their traditionally unpeated whiskies. But as far out as it was, I tried to imagine someone trying to run down these roads at night, especially when they were coming from miles away. I asked Duncan about the witches experience,
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. 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. Tomatin Cù Bòcan has been matured in a mixture of Virgin oak, Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Sherry casks. Nothing like THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES 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.”This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. A medium-bodied arrival brings the tingle of cinnamon and nutmeg, with treacle toffee, warming oak and dark chilli chocolate. The fruit is once more orange; candied peel. Some sherry-soaked plums and a little ginger, homemade jam, dark Muscovado and bruised apples with a savoury maple-cured bacon smoke. Our award winning experimental Highland Single Malt is distilled every winter at Tomatin Distillery in limited batches and made with lightly peated Scottish barley for its signature wisp of smoke. In late 2005, after Tomatin had achieved its annual production quota, the Distillery Manager at the time brought in a load of lightly peated barley allowing the distillery to produce its own peated spirit for the last week of the year. Compelled beyond all natural reason to feel the hound's dense fur he stopped and reached out, hand trembling, 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.
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 I was on a road trip through Scotland and had stopped to spend the night by the River Spey, and happened into a Public House and Inn called the Mash Tun. I asked Kevin the bartender to assemble a flight of some excellent whiskies that had peat smoke in their flavor profiles.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”. 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, the only ongoing product within the range, matured in Bourbon, Oloroso Sherry and North American Virgin Oak casks, the Creation series and the newly released Cù Bòcan 15 Year Old.
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. But with all the legends around witches, there is another theory as to where this ghost dog comes from. 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). 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. I got the tip off from a pal on this one, but that pal is known for loving sherry and bold, brash, potently-flavoured face-punches so my expectations were measured. I needn’t have worried. This is one of those bottles I’m glad I took heed and bought, even when I, at first, thought it was pricey. I’m also glad I opened it straight away; it very much enhanced my winter.
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In 2005, master distiller Dougie Campbell brought in a load of lightly peated barley (optic at 15ppm) for the last week of production before Christmas. The intention was to use this for blending, but the moment the spirit came out of the still, he was reminded of how Tomatin tasted in the early years of his career and he decided to fill it into first-fill bourbon and first-fill sherry and virgin oak. These three casks continue to form the recipe for their Cù Bòcan Signature expressions. Cù Bòcan has stalked residents of the remote Highland village of Tomatin for centuries, his legend embellished by the hellhound's increasingly fractious behaviour. Ground coffee, treacle and cola cubes. Dark, bitter chocolate, some resinous notes like beeswax or wood polish. Seville orange marmalade is the prominent fruity character, but there’s aromatic sandalwood, dark Manuka honey and a heavenly but distant peat fire with a little barbecue. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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?
Cu Bocan Creation #5 Details
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. 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. Earlier this year we released our fifth instalment in our “Creation Series”, Creation #5 matured in Andean Oak casks, thought to be the first single malt of its kind. Our Cù Bòcan Creation series pushes the boundaries of Scotch whisky with experimentation, whilst still paying homage to its protective heritage. A leading innovator in cask selection, we’re not afraid to experiment with new cask types, being the first to use Japanese Shochu casks for maturation for a previous Creation release in 2019; Creation #2.
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