Cù Bòcan
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age:  NAS
Abv:  40%
Non-chill filtered

The Cù Bòcan is an expression from Tomatin distillery.  I’ve had the Tomatin 12 and not been overly fond of that, but this bottle has a very cool lore, awesome graphics, and was on sale when I picked it up – a trifecta no matter the liquid within!

Bottle Notes
Light smoke intertwined with rich citrus and exotic spices.  Non-chill filtered.

Nose
Light smoke, just like the bottle says.  Quite nice, really.  It’s a gentle, wafty smoke that really doesn’t play a lead role – great supporting character.  Grapefruit rind, and lots of juicy citrus bouncing about the glass.  There is an occasional appearance of dusty malt, hints of wood and hay.  The citrus really does keep coming back and grabbing your attention.  It’s kind of an awesome nose, really.  Makes me anticipate a big grapefruit palate.  Hints of ginger as the dram progresses.

Palate
Sweet citrus, orange with lemon, I do get there with the grapefruit.  The smoke may be there – very low and background but a bit of a rounding agent I think.  The small spike of spirit here and there.  The occasional bitterness from a citrus rind comes forth – I don’t particularly care for that bit, but it is in line with the overall experience at least.  As with the nose, later sips bring a spiciness.

Finish
Nice oily finish, drags the citrus sweet along for quite a while.  Again, the smoke skootches along the bottom of the flavours, but keeps lightly brushing them.

Final Thoughts
The nose is the best part of this dram.  The smoke is most present there, but it continues to wind its way through the palate and finish.  It’s quite awesome, really.  Definitely a citrus-forward dram, but there are some layers, and some dynamism and complexity.

I’ve had this bottle for almost a year, early drams felt more spirit-forward.  The past few sips, and tonight’s tasting, have been quite lovely experiences.  The smoke is solid in the early going, the citrus is consistent, and the spiciness comes in like Act II, changing things up ever so gently.

The lore centers around a ghost hound on the moors (the Cù Bòcan), seen rarely and always disappearing in a cloud of inky blue smoke.  The box itself is awesome, and the bottle is mostly clear with white lettering and graphics.  I do love that story aspect, so when paired with an increasingly enjoyable dram – this is a thumbs up!

The Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age:  NAS
Abv:  40%

The Glenlivet line has quite a few expressions, the Caribbean Reserve is a relatively new one.  I haven’t sampled many of their line – this, and the Founders Reserve.  This was a road-trip addition that sounded like it would be a fun comparison to the Founders Reserve.

Bottle Notes
Sweet & tropical notes.  Selectively finished in barrels that held Caribbean Rum.

Nose
Soft, blended fruits.  A basket of … berries, actually.  Hints of blueberry, sweet raspberry.  A nice dusty malt coating.  Sharpening the focus I start down the tropics trail.  Mmm, melon, a hint of pineapple.  The semi-raw skin of a plantain.  So, definitely with the tropics in mind, my nose picks out those lovely sweet melon and exotic fruits.  On a more casual approach, I first get a gentle basket of fruit and berries – light fruits like apple, pear.  There is a certain note that crops up now and then that is like a soft, worn leather.  

Palate
Lots of sweetness.  Not sugary, but semi-ripened fruit.  Threads of a darker fruit – figs, raisins.  Spots of citrus on later sips – big orange, and a sense of tropical fruit salad.  On occasion I’m getting a spirity hit, but not overwhelming, and not omnipresent.  The dominant experience here is fruit, and it dances amongst apple, berries, and tropical.

Finish
The palate carries through, nicely.  Sparkles of sweetness fade with a gentle tingle.  A slowly descending warmth.

Final Thoughts
I like it.  It’s not a whisky that wows me, it’s not one I reach for when I peruse the cabinet, but in an unhurried moment, this dram pours nicely, is a lightly dynamic nose, consistent palate, and decent, clean finish.  When I picture the comparison with Founders Reserve, it’s a nice counterpoint – similar in smoothness and dusty malt level, but leans more to the lighter, fruity and berry with tropical influences.  The Founders Reserve tends more to the darker fruits, but with the same signature malt and smooth experience.

I’m not much of a mixologist, but I picture this being a great base for some sort of whisky cocktail, where the tropical fruit notes might be accented by fruit juices and some crushed ice.

The Glenlivet line seems to come and go quite frequently here at the local NSLC shops.  A nod to its widespread popularity, perhaps.  This one is not available at the moment, but I expect to see it again some time.

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age:  10 years
Abv:  46%
Non Chill-filtered

Bottle Notes
Sea spray.  Tarry rope.  Immense smoky intensity.

Nose
Sea soaked bog peat, a richly aroma’d, intense and powerful noseful.  The thing I love about an early dram of Ardbeg 10 is the swamp of peat, then the billows of smoke, then the lovely, balanced marriage between the two.  Even though they temper with time in the glass, they hold strong, and distinct.  A layer of sweet orchard fruit starts to bubble through the smoky curtain.  

Palate
A wash of peat and smoke, but the chorus of sweet apple and pear come charging in behind.  Tendrils of smoke crawl about the palate, but the apple freshness keeps a sweet, lovely tone to the whole.

Finish
Mostly a sweet, lingering, fading song, with even fainter echoes of peat, smoke.  

Final Thoughts
In our early whisky days a few years back, Ardbeg 10 charged about our meager inventory with a bullish, smoky, peat laden swagger.  Oh boy, you want smoke?  Try this one!  Then one day, while enjoying a dram during a tasting night, the smoky curtain suddenly parted for me, and I looked in wonder upon a pristine orchard bursting with fresh apples and pears.  The sweetness that was hitherto hidden, was suddenly revealed, in full, bright, glorious wonder.  I was amazed by this sudden insight, and have enjoyed this whisky immensely ever since.

There is a tart sweetness that pokes through the peat and smoke in such a balanced, noticeable way, and it promises a wonder on the tongue that has yet to disappoint.  To this day, I still point at this one as my favourite whisky, the one that I would pick if I had but one bottle to have on my shelf.  It led me to other Ardbeg expressions (Wee Beastie, An Oa), and while I love the Ardbeg character in those, and appreciate their uniqueness, I still come back to the 10 as my dram of choice.  Perhaps it’s because it was the first, and one of the first whiskies I had a lightbulb moment with.

Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Via Kilbeggan Co Distilling
Age:  NAS
Abv:  40%

Bottle Notes
Nothing of note on the canister, and nothing at all on the bottle itself.

Nose
Quite a striking and lovely peat and smoke pair to open the dram.  Quite lovely, and for me, very reminiscent of Ledaig 10yo.  Some creamy vanilla undertones, perhaps a sprinkling of fruity goodness.  The smoke starts to settle in to something more… not quite stale, but like it is smoke that is embedded in wood staves.  So, maybe a smoky wood sensation.  Not free floating smoke on the wind, but a cold wooden smoke.  The peat continues, punching here and there, with a wet bog coating. With time a custardy fruit starts to rise.  This is nice, a changing nose with only a short time in the glass.

Palate
Quite a hit of smoke to start.  Then a very subtle, light mouthful.  Very light, smooth, but the peat and smoke seem to offer a bit of a bite to the sip.  Creamy mouthfeel on later sips – very much so.  But the taste remains light, slightly spirity.  Some streaks of vanilla, the creamy mouthfeel may be saving the taste for me.  Without it, it does come across as light and thin.  Sometimes comes in with the custardy vanilla, making the sip fairly nice.  A fair departure from the nose, to be sure.

Finish
Lightly alcoholic, very faint fruitiness.  Some of the smoke char perhaps – it’s all quite light.  Faint lines of vanilla, the creamy mouthfeel carries over a bit on the finish.

Final Thoughts
To be honest, I have very little experience with Irish Whiskies.  Jameson would be about the only one I could say yes, I remember that one.  And my memory isn’t fond – I’ve found it to be thin, spirity, and in need of not only ice, but a mixer as well.  I was intrigued by this one – a peated Irish Whiskey!?  I was fortunate enough to sample before I bought, at West Side Spirits and the opening peat and smoke was enough to convince me it was worth a try.

It has been an interesting bottle for the shelf, and when Ledaig 10 was extinct, I did feel it was a not-bad substitute.  However, once the peat and smoke start to fade in the glass, I’m brought back to my Jameson experiences, and it’s just not a profile that I get excited about, or enjoy.  Now that I see Ledaig 10 on the shelves again here in NS, I can’t see me putting this one back on the roster once it’s gone.