Review #955 - Cu Bocan 15 Year 2023 Edition
Tomatin is generally known for their product of unpeated malt whisky, but they do also produce a lightly peated line in more limited quantities. The distillery is a large operation with a theoretical capacity of about 5 million liters of alcohol per year, but we don't believe they're actually producing that much - probably more along the lines of 1.5 million to 2.0 million liters of spirit annually. Still, even with that large amount of spirit flowing, Cu Bocan only makes up a week of production each year, so it ends up being quite limited.
Tomatin began producing this style of spirit back in 2005 (or potentially even earlier, based on some releases), so they theoretically now have Cu Bocan stock that's 20 years old or even more. Here we have a 15 year version which was released back in 2023, so we know that it was distilled in 2008 at the latest.
The distillery describes Cu Bocan as an experimental style of spirit, and they rotate the types of casks used for maturation for many of the releases. For this 2023 edition, Oloroso sherry casks were the selection, but this is no finish - this was a full 15 year maturation in those sherry casks, which becomes obvious once you see the rich, cola-like natural color of the whisky.
Cu Bocan 15 Year 2023 Edition
Scotland/Highland - Single Malt
Price: USD 114 (2026)
Age Statement: 15 Years
Strength: 50% ABV
Cask Makeup: Oloroso sherry casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; bottled 2023
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 2 months; bottles at 80%, 70%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Musty and extremely rich - strong sherry notes of figs, prunes, savory black pepper barbecue, and Bordeaux red wine. The peat is relatively soft; we get roasted root veggies, raisins, and very strong earthy notes next. There's a hint of root beer and some minerals; nice spirit character here.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness; wow, this is so savory and effervescent. Soft to medium in terms of peat smoke level, and we get strong barbecue sauce notes along with root beer, licorice, wood spice, and sherry flavors like dates. It's very meaty, a bit tangy, and we also get some wood char, brown sugar, and a nice spirity side, though it doesn't taste young at all.
Finish: Wood smoke, dark stewed fruits of cranberry and lots of wine, and a medium amount of peat. Earthy flavors, saucy beef ribs, and wood spice continue that savory side; charcoal and spiced caramel are accents. It's a medium-long finish.
Final Note: Wow, this bottle is great. This is our first experience with Cu Bocan, and we weren't really sure what to expect going in, but we're big fans of this whisky and the style. There is an awesome savory, earthy style to this spirit, and the strong sherry cask maturation does a great job of accenting that while also adding dark fruits and lots of richness. Honestly, this has some similarities to spirit of Springbank, which is our favorite distillate in Scotland; we think this is a great bottle to seek out.
Prices on this bottle seems to vary a bit here in the US; it isn't easy to find, and we saw prices between $110 and $130 across a few different websites. We settled on a price around $115 for an average, and based on that, we think the value for this bottle is above average - we recommend it for sure.
Our Rating: 8.1 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.37
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
