Tomatin 1989 Cù Bòcan Cask #37470-37471-37472

A distillery bottling of Cu Bocan, a 25 year old from 1989, drawn from cask 37470-37471-37472 and bottled at 53.2%. The outturn was 1080 bottles. Cù Bòcan is the smoky side of Tomatin, a peated malt named after a spectral hound of local legend. The core is unpeated, with peated spirit made one week a year and bottled as Cu Bocan.

The spirit was drawn off copper pot stills from the year's peated run, for a peated spirit with a fruity heart. It was matured in ex-Bourbon oak, a vanilla sweetness beneath the smoke. Beyond twenty years the smoke turns gentle, a soft peat over deep fruit and oak. The cool, high Highland climate gives a slow, even maturation. The very long fermentation is central to the distillery's fruity character. The distillery sits beside the A9, the old road north to Inverness. Cu Bocan focuses on unusual cask finishes, from sherry to wine and beyond.

At a natural 53.2% it is full and fruity. A gentle smoke over orchard fruit, and the refill bourbon lends a quiet vanilla. The texture is soft, the smoke threaded with fruit. The finish runs smoky, fruity and warm. This is a smoky Highland malt from Tomatin distillery.