This whisky is the latest bottling in the limited edition Creations Series from the Highland peated single malt brand of Cù Bòcan. The series features unorthodox and often groundbreaking cask types, and an experimental and innovative approach to maturation. The Cù Bòcan Creation #8 is the eighth in the series and features a never-before-seen cask combination. This is rare ex-Canadian ice wine casks and ex-Spanish Verdejo white wine casks.
Ice wine is a sweet dessert wine made from grapes left to freeze on the vine before harvesting. The grapes are pressed at around –7°C, when the water inside has crystalised. This leaves a small amount of highly concentrated sugary juice. For this expression, Cù Bòcan used ice wine casks from family-owned Canadian winery, Pillitteri. Verdejo is a white wine from Spain’s Rueda region is known for its fresh, zesty and herbal character. The Verdejo casks used to mature Creation #8 were sourced from the renowned Belondrade winery.
The Cù Bòcan Creation #8 packaging debuts a striking new colourway of electric purple and neon green, reflecting the individuality of the spirit within its bespoke twisted bottle. It is released at 46% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. Bottles are available from the Tomatin website and voa specialist whisky retailers worldwide. There are just 3,600 bottles and each will cost £45.
About Cu Bocan
Cù Bòcan spirit is distilled for a short period each winter at the Tomatin distillery. The first distillation took place in the winter of 2005, with the first official bottling appearing in 2013. Tomatin is located in the Scottish Highlands, about half way between Aviemore and Inverness. It was founded in 1897 and was originally named Tomatin Spey. In 1907, it became Tomatin, the name of the local village. Tomatin is currently owned by the Takara Shuzo Corporation, who purchased the distillery in 1986. It has a current annual capacity of five million litres.
Our Tasting Notes
The colour is bright gold and the nose is vibrant, fresh and smoky. Early aromas of white grape and candied lime are quickly joined by red apple and heather honey. Then comes golden syrup and icing sugar, plus hints of sugary sultana and ripe pineapple. The peat smoke wraps around everything and has a soft, herbaceous nature to it – think of dried heather with fennel herb, menthol and eucalyptus oil.
On the palate this whisky is bold and expressive. The smokiness grabs the taste buds first and has the same herbaceous quality as on the nose. This is very different from traditional Islay peat and is both softer and sweeter. Dried grass and moss characteristics are evident alongside the heather, fennel and eucalyptus. A hint of wood ash comes through later and adds an increasing dryness.
Sweet and fruity notes combine superbly with the smoke and work in balance. Juicy white grape and apricot lead the way, along with the sugary plump sultana and candied lime peel from before. Golden syrup notes add texture and a pinch of icing sugar accentuates the sweetness. Late hints of orange zest and dried peach also come through, plus a mouthwatering peppery heat and delicate baking spice.
The finish is of decent length and is drawn out by the gentle peat smoke. The sweeter and herbal sides of the smoke fade to leave a more drying and ashy element to dominate. The fruitiness also fades nicely, with the citrussy tang the last thing to disippate. A toffee-like sweetness comes through right at the death.
What’s The Verdict?
We have followed the Cù Bòcan Creations Series since it launched in 2019, and have sampled several of the releases to date. We love the use of unortodox casks not often seen in Scotch whisky maturation, and how these are being used in combination. Creation #8 is no exception and the ex-ice wine and ex-Verdejo casks push the lightly peated Cù Bòcan spirit is a bright, sweet and fruity direction. The result is delicious and welcoming when combined with the brand’s signature smoke.
