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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

£28.125£56.25Clearance
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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. 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. Compelled beyond all natural reason to feel the hound's dense fur he stopped and reached out, hand trembling, On second thoughts, do buy it, because either way you’ll end up with an excellent evolution on something you already love.

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. 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. 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 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. We are delighted to introduce our limited edition 15 Year Old, this is the brand’s first age-stated whisky expression. The 15 Year Old has been fully matured in Oloroso Sherry casks for a minimum of 15 years, this 2022 Edition is the first in a series of planned annual batch releases.

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.” 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). But with all the legends around witches, there is another theory as to where this ghost dog comes from. 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”.

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.

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