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.

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). 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. 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.

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On second thoughts, do buy it, because either way you’ll end up with an excellent evolution on something you already love. 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.

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. Essentially, this is a whisky made from scratch, which just happens to be produced at Tomatin. It’s much more than just a Tomatin made with lightly peated barley. From what I know, it started in 2005, when for the last week of the production season, Tomatin decided to do something different. Bringing in a batch of lightly peated (15 ppm) Optic barley, they created a lightly peated whisky in its own right, using different fermentation methods, different distillation runs and, particularly in recent years, different casks compared to what Tomatin usually does. Cù Bòcan has stalked residents of the remote Highland village of Tomatin for centuries, his legend embellished by the hellhound's increasingly fractious behaviour. 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”.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. Compelled beyond all natural reason to feel the hound's dense fur he stopped and reached out, hand trembling, 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.

On the face of it, it’s one of those potential bottles where peat smoke and sherry meet and the world is at peace. However, this is more subtle and therefore requires a word of caution. Do not buy this if you’re a peat head. The smoke element is very subtle indeed.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 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. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. 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. 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.

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, 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.” 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. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. 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.This is likely Cù Bòcan, and Tomatin for that matter, at its boldest. This is hefty and big, quite unlike any Cù Bòcan I’ve tried before. Some will say, and rightfully so, that indeed there is a lot of emphasis on the cask. Very good quality casks, mind you, and while this is indeed heavy on cask influence, somehow it’s layered, complex and even a bit delicate. Kudos is due to whoever managed to marry cask and spirit here, as, despite all the wood, they’ve managed to balance it out, allowing just enough of the slightly smoky and fruity Cù Bòcan character to shine through. Regardless of pricing, an age-stated Cù Bòcan is, not in the least for the people over at Tomatin, a bit of a big deal. Because summarising Cù Bòcan as ‘peated Tomatin’ is really cutting a few essential corners and therefore selling it a bit short.