This year’s Halloween-themed review takes us to the northeast, and to Tomatin Distillery, home of the Cu Bocan.
The Last Wolf in Scotland
Here in Scotland, the trees have started shedding their leaves, the nights are growing longer and the air is turning colder. The inevitable approach of Hallowe’en is once again upon us, bringing all the dark things of the night along with it. That can only mean that it’s once again time for me to peer into the country’s darkest corners and unearth an eerie tale from one of our many distilleries…
In 2013, Tomatin announced the release of a first ever peated expression named Cù Bòcan – Gaelic for Ghost Dog. The bottle is inspired by the legend of MacQueen of Findhorn and the last wolf of Scotland. MacQueen was a legendary deer stalker who was hired by the Chief of Clan Mackintosh to hunt down and kill a great beast that was responsible for the deaths of two children in the hills near Cawdor. He eventually tracked down and destroyed a massive wolf in Tarnaway Forest, taking its enormous head to the Chief as proof that its reign of terror was at an end. Some weren’t convinced, however.
Even today, those who walk the countryside by night report fleeting glimpses of shapes and shadows that flit between the trees. Many feel like they’re being watched and some find tracks in the snow, significantly larger than those of any domestic dog. One walker was driven close to madness with fear when a bloodcurdling howl pierced the still night air. Another, who passed close to the Tomatin distillery in the dead of winter heard a growl in the dark and froze where he stood, convinced some hellish beast was stalking him. Sensing its vast presence behind him and feeling its foul breath on his neck he spun round, only to find an empty road stretched out before him…
Like one, that on a lonesome road
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And having once turned round walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows, a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.
– The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1798
Cu Bocan 2005 Review
Smell: Burnt toffee and wood smoke with lemon and malted barley. There’s also honey, vanilla fudge and a touch of liquorice. Even a bit of blackcurrant.
Taste: Smoky bacon with honey glaze. A bit of caramel. Some forest fruits. Touch of pepper and a wisp of smoke.
Thoughts: Your £50 buys you a whisky that’s been matured for 11 years and bottled at 50% abv without colouring or chill filtering. That’s pretty good going.
The dram is full of subtle complexities, as well. The touch of smoke never lets up but neither does it dominate or overpower. Don’t be fooled into comparing this to an Islay malt. Highland peat is a different beast altogether. There’s none of the coastal, medicinal character here. In all, this is a very pleasant whisky that’s reasonably priced and marketing bumf it may well be, but what better dram to enjoy on Halloween than the one named after a spectral wolf?
*Disclaimer: ‘some’ artistic license was deployed in the writing of this article!
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