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Cù Bòcan Creation 9 is the ninth limited edition in the Creations series from Cù Bòcan, the experimental single malt brand made at Tomatin Distillery in the Scottish Highlands. Inspired by cinema popcorn, it combines American virgin oak casks for sweetness with Manzanilla sherry casks for a salty, savoury edge. Aged for over 17 years, it is the oldest Creation so far. It is bottled at 46% ABV in a 70cl bottle and priced at £45. Tomatin Collective members get first access before general release, and it is already listed at Hard To Find Whisky.

The ninth Cù Bòcan Creation is built around a single idea: the moment the lights go down in a cinema and you reach into a bucket of popcorn that is somehow both sweet and salty. Cù Bòcan Creation 9 chases that flavour with a cask pairing we haven’t seen in the series before, American virgin oak and Manzanilla sherry.

The concept is playful. The specs are serious. This is a single malt aged for at least 17 years, the oldest whisky the Creations series has released, and it costs £45.

What is Cù Bòcan Creation 9?

Cù Bòcan Creation 9 is a limited edition Highland single malt Scotch whisky from Cù Bòcan, the experimental brand that Tomatin Distillery builds around its lightly peated spirit. Each Creation pairs two cask types in a combination designed to tell a specific flavour story.

For Creation 9, that story is sweet and salted popcorn. The American virgin oak provides the sweetness, the Manzanilla sherry casks provide the salt, and the two are married together to land somewhere between the toffee bucket and the salted one.

It is bottled at 46% ABV in a 70cl bottle, with an age statement of over 17 years, and the recommended price is £45.

Two casks, one bucket: how the popcorn note is built

The interesting part of Creation 9 is how cleanly each cask has been given a job.

American virgin oak has never held another liquid before the whisky goes in. That means the wood gives everything it has straight to the spirit: vanilla, caramel and baking spice in a much more concentrated form than a refilled bourbon barrel would offer. According to Tomatin, these casks bring cinnamon French toast, buttery sweetness and spiced orange.

Manzanilla is the counterweight. It is a pale, bone-dry style of sherry made only in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a coastal town at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river in Andalusia. It ages under a layer of yeast called flor, and the Atlantic air there is widely credited with giving Manzanilla its famous saline, almost briny character. Tomatin says its Manzanilla casks contribute salted caramel, sour apple and toasted almonds.

Put the two together and you get the logic of the release. One cask brings butter and sugar, the other brings salt and a nutty, savoury snap. That is popcorn.

It also isn’t the first time Tomatin has worked with this sherry style. The distillery’s Sherry Collection opened with a Manzanilla Edition, so there is real house experience with what these casks do to its spirit.

Who is Cù Bòcan and why the Creations series matters

Tomatin Distillery sits in the Highlands south of Inverness and was founded in 1897. It is best known for its fruity, unpeated house style, but for a few weeks every winter the distillery switches to peated barley and produces Cù Bòcan.

That peated run was revived in 2005 using barley peated to around 15ppm (parts per million of phenols, the standard measure of peat intensity), which places it firmly in lightly peated territory. Cù Bòcan launched as a brand in 2013. The name means “ghost dog” in Gaelic, after a spectral hound said to haunt the village of Tomatin.

The Creations series began in 2019 and has become the brand’s playground for unusual cask pairings. Creation #4 combined Tawny Port and Cognac casks. Creation #7 paired Pineau des Charentes Rouge with American virgin oak to mark twenty years of peated production at Tomatin. Creation #8, released earlier this year, matured the spirit in Canadian ice wine and Spanish Verdejo casks, believed to be a first for a peated Scotch, and was limited to 3,600 bottles.

Creation #8 was described as the oldest release in the series at the time. Creation 9 pushes that further, past the 17-year mark. With a peated run that only restarted in 2005, a 17-year-old Cù Bòcan comes from some of the earliest stock of the modern era.

Cù Bòcan Creation 9 tasting notes (distillery notes)

We haven’t tasted Creation 9 yet, so the notes below are Tomatin’s own, broken down by cask as the distillery presents them.

Cù Bòcan Creation 9: distillery tasting notes

American virgin oak casks: cinnamon French toast, buttery sweetness, spiced orange Manzanilla sherry casks: salted caramel, sour apple, toasted almonds Combined profile: sweet and salted popcorn

ABV: 46% | Age: 17+ years | Cask type: American virgin oak + Manzanilla sherry | Bottle: 70cl | Price: £45

Cù Bòcan Creation 9 price and availability

Cù Bòcan Creation 9 is priced at £45 for 70cl.

Members of The Tomatin Collective, the distillery’s own membership club, have been given the chance to buy before the general release. At the time of writing, the bottle is also listed at Hard To Find Whisky for £45. The specialist retailers are the place to look as stock rolls out.

Tomatin’s previous Creations have reached specialist retailers across the UK and Europe, and Hard To Find Whisky ships internationally. Readers outside the UK should check delivery to their country before ordering, as shipping options for spirits vary by market.

The bottle count for Creation 9 hasn’t been confirmed. As a reference point, Creation #8 was limited to 3,600 bottles worldwide.

Is Cù Bòcan Creation 9 worth £45?

On paper, this is one of the most compelling price points we’ve seen this year. A 17-year-old single malt for £45 is rare in today’s market, and Tomatin has priced it in line with its younger siblings rather than charging extra for the age.

It is for the drinker who enjoys experimental cask work but still wants the depth that comes with long maturation. If you like sweet, dessert-leaning whisky with a savoury twist, or you have been collecting the Creations series, it is an easy decision.

It is less suited to anyone after a big, smoky dram. Cù Bòcan’s peat is gentle by design, and with over 17 years in oak and a cask pairing built around sweetness and salinity, we expect the wood to take centre stage.

If the popcorn idea has caught your attention, don’t wait for the reviews to pile up. Previous Creations have sold steadily through specialist shops, and at this price, Creation 9 is likely to move quickly.

Frequently asked questions about Cù Bòcan Creation 9

What is Cù Bòcan Creation 9? Cù Bòcan Creation 9 is a limited edition Highland single malt from Cù Bòcan, the experimental brand made at Tomatin Distillery. Inspired by sweet and salty cinema popcorn, it is matured in American virgin oak and Manzanilla sherry casks. It is aged for over 17 years, making it the oldest release in the Creations series to date.

What does Cù Bòcan Creation 9 taste like? According to Tomatin, the American virgin oak brings cinnamon French toast, buttery sweetness and spiced orange, while the Manzanilla sherry casks add salted caramel, sour apple and toasted almonds. Together, the two casks are designed to create a sweet and salted popcorn character, balancing rich sweetness with a savoury, saline edge.

How much does Cù Bòcan Creation 9 cost? Cù Bòcan Creation 9 costs £45 for a 70cl bottle at 46% ABV. That price applies to Tomatin Collective members buying early and to the Hard To Find Whisky listing. For a single malt aged over 17 years, it is very competitively priced, in line with earlier releases in the Creations series.

Where can I buy Cù Bòcan Creation 9? Tomatin Collective members were offered early access before general sale. The bottle is listed at Hard To Find Whisky for £45, and more UK and European specialist whisky retailers are expected to stock it as the release rolls out. International buyers should check each retailer’s shipping options for their country before ordering.

What casks are used in Cù Bòcan Creation 9? Cù Bòcan Creation 9 uses two cask types. American virgin oak casks, which have never held another liquid, give a deep, sweet backbone. Manzanilla sherry casks, from the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, add a salty, savoury edge. The combination is what creates the release’s signature sweet and salty popcorn profile.

Is Cù Bòcan peated whisky? Yes, but lightly. Cù Bòcan is the peated single malt produced at Tomatin Distillery for a few weeks each winter, a tradition revived in 2005 using barley peated to around 15ppm. That is gentle compared with heavily peated styles, so the smoke typically sits behind the fruit and cask influence rather than dominating the glass.