Review | Cù Bòcan Creation #6

This whisky is the sixth bottling in Creations Series from the peated Highland single malt brand of Cù Bòcan (pronounced koo-bock-un). The Cù Bòcan Creation #6. joins the series, which uses unorthodox cask combinations to create unique flavour profiles. In this case the casks are 9-year-old ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and 10-year-old ex-Jamaican rum casks, which have been fused together to create the final whisky. 

Review / The Italian Collection by Tomatin

The Highland distillery of Tomatin has revealed a new series of whiskies and details of the trio of bottlings. The Italian Collection celebrates the distillery's long history of importing Italian wine casks and its success in the Italian market. Each of the three whiskies follows the same path - 10 years of maturation in American oak ex-bourbon casks before being tranferred for a two year finish in a different Italian wine barrel. 

The Amarone Edition 12 Years Old uses casks sourced from the Veneto region, the Barolo Edition 12 years Old features casks from the Piedmont region and the Marsala Edition 12 Years Old sees the whisky finished in casks from a Marsala winery in Sicily. 

Review / Cù Bòcan 12 years old

This whisky is the latest addition to the core range of innovative peated Highland single malt Cù Bòcan (pronounced koo-bock-an). The Cù Bòcan 12 years old features spirit that is matured for a short period each winter at the Tomatin distillery near Inverness. The new bottling features part-maturation in ex-rum casks sourced from the Caribbean. These have come from Barbados and Guyana in particular. Prior to that, maturation was in ex-bourbon barrels. The whisky is released at 46% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour, It will be produced in small batches annually. The Cù Bòcan 12 years old will be available in selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide and will cost £65/ $US80. 

Review - Cù Bòcan Signature Malt, Creation #1 & Creation #2

Cù Bòcan is the peated single malt brand from the Highland distillery of Tomatin distillery. The name comes from a local legend in which the Cù Bòcan, a ghostly canine-like creature, appears and causes havoc once every generation before mysteriously disappearing in a puff of blue smoke.

It has been on the market since 2013, but a major relaunch was recently announced. The relaunch involves new bottle designs and packaging, designed by Thirst Craft to 'show the qualities of the contemporary spirit', along with two new core range products. Cù Bòcan is produced using lightly peated Scottish barley for a short period during the winter months each year at Tomatin.

Review - Tomatin 8, 15 and 40 years old

This trilogy of whiskies have been released by the increasingly popular Highland single malt brand of Tomatin and will be exclusive to the travel retail sector. All have age statements at 8, 15 and 40 years old. The three new whiskies will join two current one litre bottlings - the 12 years old and the peaty Cù Bòcan - in the range. They are available through travel retailers in Europe now, before being introduced in Asia and the USA shortly.

Review - Tomatin Caribbean Rum, Cabernet Sauvignon & Oloroso Sherry Cask Finishes

These whiskies are a trio of new limited edition single malts from the Highland distillery of Tomatin.  They are designed to demonstrate the distillery's experimentations with different types of casks - the 9 years old Caribbean Rum, the 14 years old Cabernet Sauvignon and the 21 years old Oloroso Sherry. All are bottled at 46% ABV and will be available in selected specialist whisky retailers worldwide.

Review - Tomatin 1971

This whisky is the first release of the new luxury Warehouse 6 Collection from Tomatin. The collection will feature a series of rare single casks from the maturing stock with the first being distilled in August 1971 and bottled in May 2016. The 44 years old has been matured in a single ex-Oloroso sherry hogshead cask, which has yielded just 252 bottles. The whisky is presented in a bespoke hand-blown crystal decanter made by Glencairn Crystal and sits in a varnished wooden plinth with gold metal trim alongside two crystal tumblers.