Cú Dhub means Black Dog in Gaelic (although thre are some doubts about the spelling). This whisky is marketed as the Black Blended Malt Whisky.
It takes inspiration from Loch Dhu, a cult bottling from Mannochmore distillery, released in 1996. Loch Dhu was an incredibly dark single malt, partly because it was matured in ‘double-charred’ casks, but also because vast quantities of E150 colouring were used to get this distinctive colour. It didn’t live long: although it won some fans in Scandinavia, most whisky purists thought it was one of the worst whiskies ever made.
In 2008 Cú Dhub was launched, a NAS single malt from Speyside distillery, created for the Danish market. Recently a new version appeared, still made by Speyside distillery for Mac Y in Denmark, albeit now as a blended malt. Originally a 5 year old Speyside single malt aged in refill casks, it was then sent to Denmark to be transformed into a black whisky by adding a large amount of caramel colouring.
Cú Dhub – The Black Blended Malt (43%, OB +/- 2023)
Nose: molasses, dark roast coffee beans, prunes and hints of raisins. Hints of burnt sugar and liquorice, as well as a good dose of oak char. Tobacco, pencil shavings and orange peels lift it up. Then there is also a fragrant side to it, in between floral notes and heady dried herbs. Something bitter and tangy comes out as well.
Mouth: less okay now. A lot of bitterness from oak char, dried herbal extracts and bitter chocolate. Seville oranges, more liquorice, cold coffee and black peppercorns. Dark tea and all kinds of burnt edges, with a hint of carboard.
Finish: not that long, on the same coffee, oak char, burnt grassy nots and overinfused black tea.
An overdose of woody extracts and caramel colouring (with the associated bitterness) make this hard to enjoy. On the other hand perhaps still ‘passable’ and not as painful as expected. And hey, some people are into BDSM after all.