Cù Bòcan Creation #3 - 46%
From the Cù Bòcan website
A celebration of the subtleties of smoke and perfectly balanced sweetness, Cù Bòcan is an experimental Highland Single Malt that explores innovative finishes to create whiskies full of intrigue and surprise.
Made with lightly peated Scottish barley, distilled every winter in limited batches. Matured in a variety of casks to unlock unusual flavours, creating a subtly smoky and surprisingly sweet spirit.
Moroccan Cabernet Sauvignon + North American Rye Casks. The tastes and smells of a Moroccan Souk are brought to life with the exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon casks used for this innovative Creation. Light smoke with a touch of strawberries in balsamic vinegar, exotic spices, citrus and tropical fruits.
Cù Bòcan takes it’s name from the legend of a mysterious hellhound said to stalk the residents of the remote Highland village of Tomatin for centuries. One of the most well known stories of this beast involves a distillery worker who was out walking late at night. All at once, he caught sight of a large black beast with bared teeth and steam spiralling from flared nostrils. Abandoning all reason, he felt the urge to reach out and touch the creature’s dense fur, and as he reached out a trembling hand, he watched in disbelief as the beast dissolved into a cloud of smoke in front of him, leaving nothing but deathly silence.
It’s little wonder then, that when the Tomatin distillery decided to launch a range of lightly peated whiskies, evoking the name of the spectral beast who roams their peat moorlands was an obvious choice.
Appearance: Russet gold, thick swirls bead then fall as slow, thick legs.
Nose: The soft smoke comes to the fore, before being gradually replaced by soft red fruit, baked apple, caramel and a hint of woody spice.
Palate: Tropical fruit with a balsamic glaze, raspberries, treacle tart, crystallised ginger provides a little warmth.
Finish: Dark brown sugar, cooked banana, mango, a hint of smoke and peppery spice.
Summary: This is definitely one of those whiskies you could spend a long time exploring. Not as well balanced as some of the other bottles in the Cù Bòcan range, but interesting nonetheless. The use of a Moroccan Cabernet Sauvignon cask is a twist on the more common red wine finishes and adds an exotic element, particularly to the nose, whilst the rye cask brings more of that characteristic spice to the finish. A little water adds more balance and a little more smoke to the palate and finish.
It’s different, unusual and packed full of flavour. At a current price of just under £60 it’s certainly worth trying, although I do find some of the other expressions in the range are more to my taste.
If you would like more information on the range of Cù Bòcan whiskies, please visit the company website.
This sample was part of a 4 dram selection for a TweetTasting session organised by @TheWhiskyWire and the Tomatin Distillery. All opinions are my own.
