New release : Tomatin Cù Bòcan

I have a love and hate relationship with Israeli mail. On the one hand I hate it. It sucks, it’s always late, stuff doesnt get sent at all, The lines are long, and the service is bad. On the other hand, they do deliver quite a lot of whisky to me, and I am thankful for that. It really is amazing to think that stuff sent from Scotland really makes it all the way to Israel, and then to my mailbox. a miracle, if you take into consideration how the post office works, and howe the people working there are not really keen to do what needs to be done, that is – work.

I knew i was about to get a surprise sample from Tomatin, for a special event that was happening last week. I was really really hoping it would be here on time. But it wasn’t. Actually, it was, but since the lazy sods do not deliver envelopes over 100 gr to my mailbox (although they do deliver in other places, it’s all a matter of the mailmen’s will to do a bit of work), I had to go and pick it up from the post office, but then it was holiday eve, so not all the packages did arrive on time, and i had to wait until Sunday for the rest of the sacks to get unpacked. But, i was going to Maltstock the day after! I ended up waiting more than a week until I was able to taste this lovely dram. oh well, Israeli mail, you suck.

So, another dram with Gaelic name. right? well, I know a bit of that already, and I knew Cù was dog. what does Bòcan mean? here’s from the official site (yep a dedicated site!) :

Cù Bòcan has stalked residents of the remote Highland village of Tomatin for centuries, his legend embellished by the hellhound’s increasingly fractious behaviour.

Sightings are rare, once in a generation, always terrifying. A distillery worker, out walking late, was once relentlessly pursued by an imposing black beast, steam spiralling from flared nostrils, teeth bared.

Compelled beyond all natural reason to feel the hound’s dense fur he stopped and reached out, hand trembling, only to see the ghostly spectre – Cù Bòcan – dissolve before his eyes leaving nothing but a vacuum of deathly silence and an inky blue cloud of smoke, soon spirited away across the peat moorland…

here’s a nice video they have prepared:

Beyond all the PR and Gaelic, we’re dealing here with a NAS, lightly peated (15 ppm)

matured in a combination of Virgin Oak, Bourbon and Sherry casks.Non chill filtered at 46%. Not bad. Another virgin oaker, but with peat. let’s try it out!

Tomatin Cù Bòcan , NAS, 46% , £42

Nose: starts very light yet smoky, with some fresh grapfruit, pears gentle smoke and a bit of earthiness, marzipan , nuts and sweet malt. fresh, and young. crisp.

Palate: More smoke now, with a peppery tang,chilly spices, and some coffee beans, malt, which fade and become more fruity and a bit cocoa-y. the smoke lingers although it’s very mild.

Finish : Dry, smoke, hints of cocoa, malts and pepper with a marzipan twist.

Young, crisp, and lovely. not over complex, but fun. yes, FUN is the key word. I like it.

Score: 83/100

official sample provided by Tomatin distillery