The 2023 Edition of Cù Bòcan 15 Year Old takes things right back to the beginning for Tomatin Distillery when it first started producing lightly peated spirit at in the midst of winter. Matured entirely in oloroso sherry casks for a minimum of 15 years, there are just 6,000 bottles of this decadent single malt, which was bottled at 50% ABV non-chill filtered, and with natural colour.
Cù Bòcan 15 Year Old takes us back to where it all began, when Cù Bòcan first started producing lightly peated spirit in the midst of winter. Matured fully in Oloroso Sherry casks for a minimum of 15 years, this is a decadent Single Malt with sun dried fruits and smoky exotic spices.
It’s really surprising: for a distillery that holds the title of the highest distillery in Scotland, a distillery buried in snowy, barren ranges and moors, Tomatin has produced one of the sunniest and most exotic of whiskies.
The Cù Bòcan range is produced in limited batches in the middle of winter of lightly peated barley.
Cù Bòcan 15 Year Old - 2023 Edition is a Highland lightly peated single malt, aged in oloroso sherry casks.
It has flavours of sun-dried fruit, smoky exotic spices, Seville marmalade, dark chocolate and Jamaican ginger cake and comes at a strength of 50% ABV.
It is natural colour and non-chill filtered.
This subtly smoky and sweet whisky can be described in one word – decadent.
Nose : Sultanas, marmalade, nutmeg, and the smoke from an autumn bonfire.
Palate : More dried fruit and flamed orange peel with caramel, coffee, and smoked BBQ rub.
Finish : Christmas cake and creosote.
It is Tomatin’s much improved wood policy which has brought it to the notice of single malt lovers. A higher percentage of first-fill casks – ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry – has given more flesh and structure to the always top-notch spirit.
Although the first manifestation of Tomatin only ran between 1897 and 1906, its reopening under new management in 1909 saw the start of a remarkable journey which would culminate in this remote Highland outpost in between Aviemore and Inverness becoming the largest malt whisky distillery in Scotland.
Its expansion (and contraction) mirrors accurately the mood of the industry: from two stills to four in 1956, four to six in ‘58, an upping to 11 in ’61 and then in 1974 the most dramatic expansion of all, with 12 stills being installed, bringing the total to 23 and overall capacity to 10m litres per annum.
It couldn’t last. Even in 1974 the first indications of a downturn in Scotch’s fortunes were being noticed. Tomatin never ran at full capacity and in 1986 went into liquidation.
The site was saved however by two of its Japanese bulk customers, Takara Shuzo and Okura & Co [Okura’s stake was taken by Marubeni in 1998], making it the first Scotch distillery to be under Japanese control.
There has been a slow but steady recalibration ever since. The company bought blending firm J&W Hardie in 1997, adding the prestigious Antiquary blend to its portfolio. Eleven of the stills were taken out of commission in 2000 and today only 2m litres are produced from six wash and four spirit stills.
The other major change has been a shift in emphasis from bulk supply to single malt (as well as Antiquary) – again Tomatin is mirroring the market's continuing evolution. The single malt range has been widened in terms of age statements and introduced a peated variant, Cu Bocan.
