Tomatin Cù Bòcan Single Malt Whisky

 

There is a whisky with an interesting name in Tomatin series, namely, Cù Bòcan – a dog from hell.

This Cù Bòcan was originated from a “village" tale. Once upon a time, there was a dog alike creature, or said a ghost, haunting at whereabouts the villages in which the present Tomatin distillery situated. It occasionally appeared to scare the villagers. Further, another tale, that a worker of a distillery encountered it. Meanwhile he was so frightening he somehow touched its fur. Oops! The Cù Bòcan was turning into a cloud of smoke and then vanishing.

The distillery catches the opportunity to offer a special bottling to tribute to such a “legendary" tale, that is, the whisky I now introduce, the Cù Bòcan。

The Cù Bòcan is a lightly peated single malt whisky. The phenol level is about 15 ppm. The present standard bottling is blended from the whiskies aged in virgin oak, Bourbon and Sherry casks respectively. It was firstly launched in October 2013 and the distillery only allocates a period of time every year to produce this Cù Bòcan.

In additions to the present standard Cù Bòcan, I have seen four special editions of Cù Bòcan, namely, Fino, Manzanilla, Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez cask finish. There is no longer any information about these four special editions available on the official website. However, the official website lists another three special bottlings of Cù Bòcan series. They are Virgin Oak Edition (6000 bottles released in February 2015), Sherry Edition(6000 bottles released in September 2014) and vintage 1989 Limited Edition (1080 bottles, bottled at ABV53.2%, blended from three Bourbon casks of number 37470, 37471 and 37472, all were distilled on 6/7/1989).

These special editions are just for information. I rather taste the one available and affordable.

Tomatin Cù Bòcan, 700 ml, 46%

Nose: BBQ honey, toast, condense milk, grass, slightly disinfectant
Palate: Charcoal, hot spices, coffee ground, salts, licorice gum
Aftertaste: Medium length, brunt wood, medicinal, salty, licorice alike herb
Comment: Interesting aroma, BBQ on the grass, toasting bread with spread of honey and condense milk, little bit disinfectant. Medium body, smoky and toasty, woody too, quite spices, slight salty. Medium length smoky wood aftertaste, with some herbs. Though it is bottled at ABV 46%, not too heavy as expected. Neither peaty did I expect, nor significant Island elements. However, the peat and smoke play a good role in seasoning this solid Tomatin. Don’t misunderstand it is an islander or a peat monster, just a lightly peat old favored whisky. A good whisky anyway, balance, adequate, rich, lovely.