Two new editions of Cù Bòcan
Cù Bòcan is a peaty edition of whisky, sourced from the Tomatin distillery. When it first appeared in 2013, it was merely a smoky extension of the distillery's core offering. Tomatin, following the example of many other distilleries from regions rarely associated with peat and smoke, decided to take advantage of the current fashion for smoky whiskies and show that it too can smoke. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, in fact the opposite is true. Whiskies made on Speyside and throughout the Highlands have traditionally been made with a significant proportion of peat as fuel used to both heat alembics and dry barley malt. Thus, the return to peated whisky production is a kind of return to the roots.
However, Cù Bòcan quite quickly became so popular with consumers that it soon became a brand in its own right, and gave rise to a whole line of peated whiskies from Tomatin. Over time, Cù Bòcan received its own bottle, and its origins in the Tomatin distillery even disappeared completely from the main label and front of the box. So we have a situation similar to what is happening at Springbank, where three completely different whiskeys are produced - Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn - or even Tobermory, where there has been a clear split between the tobacco-free Tobermory and the smoky Ledaig.
Two more editions of Cù Bòcan are hitting the market these days. The first is Cù Bòcan Creation #3, the second is Cù Bòcan Creation #4. Both bottled with no age or vintage declaration, no cold-filtering, after diluting to the usual 46% in similar situations. Each is a limited edition of 4,200 bottles. The retail price of each of the two editions has been set at the same level of £60 per bottle.
Cù Bòcan Creation #3 (46% vol.) is a whisky that is a blend of distillates matured in Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels from Morocco and rye whiskey from North America. According to the producer, its bouquet offers notes of rose water, strawberries, dark figs, exotic spices, citrus and tropical fruits.
Cù Bòcan Creration #4 (46% vol.) is a whisky composed of distillates matured in Tawny port barrels and Cognac casks. It, in turn, has notes of plum jam, grilled peaches, forest fruit compote, cinnamon and sweet campfire smoke.
It should be emphasized that the smoky whisky from Tomatin is no peaty monster there, but a beverage made with a relatively low proportion of phenols. The malt used in its production is smoked at about 15 ppm, which is about the same as Springbank, and a tad more than Talisker. The peat used in the malt-drying process comes from the Highlands, so the whisky in its final form will not contain the marine, iodine, or medicinal notes characteristic of peaty monsters from Islay.
It can be assumed with a high degree of probability that two new editions of Cù Bòcan will soon make their way to the House of Whisky Online offer. For those interested, we recommend following our the current range of this whisky brand, as well as all - smoky and non-smoky - of the tomatin distillery offerings. Among them you can find really old and rare editions of Tomatin, as well as whiskeys often referred to with the peculiar term "daily dram," i.e. those for everyday, casual sipping.
[29.01.2022 / photo: Tomatin]