Tomatin Cù Bòcan Whisky 70cl

garbage.. avoid it!

A couple of years ago, I visited the distillery on the road up to Inverness and sampled a few of the offerings. I tried this Cu Bocan (or the version of it they had then) and was quite impressed but ended up buying the 12yo and the port wood. last week I thought I'd but the Cu Bocan to try again but I wasn't so impressed. It's well presented, is 46% and non-chillfiltered which is how I like it and the fact that it's NAS doesn't particularly bother me if it's up to scratch. However, this left me feeling that it was a bit lacking - yes, there's citrus, there's a bit of smoke and some spice but it lacks depth. I was looking at what else I could have bought for £35 and there are more satisfying whiskies out there at this price. The telling factor - would I buy again? No.

Cu Bocan 46% vol.

Cu Bocan is a lightly peated whisky from the Tomatin distillery, matured in three types of casks: virgin oak, ex-bourbon and ex-Sherry. Peated to 15ppm.
I am a fan of peated whisky, but will I like this one?

Nose: ok, it's mild, fresh and quite nice, you have to look for smoke somewhere on the back, it starts with honey and citrus, orange and grapefruit are on the foreground, some Sherry's accents, lots of spices, cloves, allspice, anise, a note of campfire and the taste of the earth

Taste: here peat and smoke is much more intense, but writing a more intense, I mean simply palpable, it is still very mellow and subdued, we are still accompanied by citruses and spices, besides cloves we have also ginger, the initial sweet maltiness changes towards the spiciness, there is pepper, sweet chili, a bit of oak, we also have honey accents, vanilla and nuts

Finish: satisfactory, warming up, quite spicy with fleeting smoke

Cu Bocan is a decent whisky in which we can really taste the influence of these three types of casks in which it matured, the smoke is present but only somewhere nearby, so it certainly does not rejects. However, it lacks more depth, something that distinguishes it from other whiskies, orange and grapefruit accents are nice, but it's not enough, it could be a little more smoky. For me, this is a whisky called as a "daily dram", for every day drinking, not for intense thinking about the structure. As a NAS whisky it seems to be more than satisfactory.

I Love Tomatin.. and love peat.. cant go wrong with this one i thought but i was so wrong. Good smoke on both nose and palate . Som citrusy notes and som nuttieness ..but it lacks depth... Put your money on the 18 year old or if you want a fruity smokey one try Benriach 17 Solistice

I was bought a bottle of this for my birthday. I must concur with the previous review about the complexity of it as I am also an Islay lover. Also, do not be put off by its NAS status. I am usually quite suspicious of NAS whisky but heartily recommend this.

I am an Islay lover, so to find a highland with as much complexity was a treat. I think the description in the "Mystical dram" review is right on and cannot be improved upon. A smooth easy drinking whisky.
I prefer it neat.

This thin bodied dram has got a beatiful full gold color to it. The nose represents a noteable floral expression, accompanied by hints of grass. The palate is quite pronounced with smokey characteristics. It doesn't offend, it invites. The finish is smooth, a tad short though, adding some more smoke and a faint peat feeling in the background.

All in all a sublime drink, powered by it's mystical background. The supreme presentation of both the box and the bottle makes this whisky a great experience.
(RB)

At a recent whisky festival in Inverness, after sampling (too many) different whiskies this was the one I went back for.
I enjoy easy to drink malts rather than the more extreme peaty or smoky variety and this fits the bill to perfection. I am not an expert so do not use all their over elaborate flowery descriptions. Quite simply, this is an extremely nice dram, especially with a few drops of water.
I will be buying it again.