This release in the experimental Cù Bòcan series from Tomatin has been aged in new Andean oak casks – the result is a quite unique and extremely exotic whisky!
Fragrance
Fresh and elegant – with spice and resin.
Taste
Rounded, soft and sweet.
Aftertaste
Long, smoky and dark.
About the Product
Possibly the first Scottish single malt to have been matured in casks made from Colombian Quercus humboldtii (Andes oak)
Andean oak is (as the name suggests) oak found in the Andes Mountains. The tree species grows at an altitude of 3500-4000 metres. It is found in cold and incredibly humid tropical climates, and is harvested sustainably high in the Cordillera region. Aging on duck oak gives the whiskey a highly aromatic and floral taste (orange blossoms and roses), as well as an exotic and fruity note (mango, papaya and passion fruit).
Tomatin Cù Bòcan Matured in Colombian Andean Oak was distilled in December 2011, and was initially matured in refill American oak hogshead casks until it was poured into Andean oak casks in June 2021. After a little over a year of maturation in these casks, it was bottled. Despite this relatively short extra maturation, the Andean oak tree has nevertheless had a massive influence on the whisky’s flavor profile. And here you can taste a completely unique (and delicious!) whisky.
Tomatin Cù Bòcan Matured in Colombian Andean Oak is bottled at an ABV of 46%.
Tasting notes
You are met by an incredible amount of herbs in the scent – with a perfumed aroma of ylang-ylang, cloves and eucalyptus that slowly transitions into sweet notes of white chocolate praline and lemon cake. The mixture of the unique qualities of the duck oak and Cù Bòcan’s light smoke profile has produced notes of roasted cloves, smoked nutmeg and creosote.
In the taste, the interaction between the sweet notes and the smoke and the spice increases, resulting in a taste of campfire-grilled bananas, caramel crunch, cloves and vanilla. The herbal notes that were so prominent in the fragrance are more restrained, which eventually turn into a long, warm aftertaste with mild phenol and spice.
About Cù Bòcan
The hellhound Cù Bòcan is not often seen – but when it happens, it is always a violent experience!
The last time anyone saw the dog was when a Tomatin distillery employee was out for a late evening walk alone. Suddenly he found himself being pursued by a great black beast with bared teeth and smoke billowing from its flaring nostrils. Against all reason, the distillery employee was so drawn to the idea of feeling the dog’s fur that he reached out with trembling hands to feel it – only to see the dog disappear in a ghostly veil of bluish smoke and steam, leaving nothing but terrifying silence could be heard and felt.
Cù Bòcan is distilled at the Tomatin Distillery, and is the distillery’s smoked, experimental department. The whiskey’s taste and design is inspired by the smoke that came out of the hellhound’s flapping nostrils.
It may well be that the dog and the story are scary, but the whiskey is thoroughly a Tomatin whiskey – delicious!
About Tomatin
Tomatin Distillery reportedly has roots all the way back to the Middle Ages, when spirits were brewed in the area. Officially, however, the distillery was first founded in 1897 under the name: “Tomatin Spey Distillery Co Ltd.”
Right up until the end of the 70s, the company went by the motto “Biggest!”, and had as many as 23 stills in production. However, the majority of their whiskey was sold to other distilleries for use in blends, and thus it was not the quality that was paramount.
However, the 80s were a tough time for the Scotch whiskey industry, and it didn’t go well for Tomatin either. In 1987, the struggling company was bought by Japanese investors, and now there were new additions to the soup – now the motto was changed from “Biggest!” to “Best!”
The mission seems to be well on its way – Today Tomatin makes a wide range of quality products, both in the form of Single Malt and Blended Whisky, and they deliver to over 50 international markets.