After an experiment that clearly demonstrated how ‘greedy’ the angels in a warm climate can be… we moved on to sample a completely different whisky.

Once upon a time, there was a distillery in the town of Thurso, the northernmost Scottish mainland distillery. It was founded in 1821 by William Smith and was apparently one of the largest producers in the country. However by the 1850s, production of Wolfburn ceased.

However what was once old, is now new… again! The new Wolfburn avatar opened near the site of the old distillery, using un-peated malt, pot distillation with no automation.

Wolfburn 46% Batch 1 (Mar 2016) 

What did we find?

• Nose – Sharp, earthy, organic, wet soaks, sour lemon, lab, cereals, initially no smoke but then after sipping, could easily discern a faint wisp of peat
• Palate – Quite a zing, honey flower sweet, strong with some mocha walnut ‘oomph’ with a lovely echo of peat
• Finish – Short, bitter sweet. As one put it “It stops at the tonsils”

While clearly young, showed promise and what we particularly enjoyed was the echo of peat – that added a quality that made this whisky stand out in its approach. It also has more substance than one normally expects from a mere three year old.

Apparently this comes from it being aged in an ex-Islay quarter cask. The smaller cask clearly contributed to accelerating the absorption of the cask flavours.

Here’s what the Wolfburn folks have to say:

“On the nose you’ll find fruit and malty aromas, with just a hint of peat. On the tongue, sweet and nutty flavours are present, which coat the palate to leave a very slight pleasant flavour of smoke. It is a joy to drink – I hope you enjoy every drop.” Shane Fraser, Distillery Manager

We agreed it is a promising start and look forward to seeing what comes next!

PS If you are keen to try, Wolfburn is available in India through The Vault Fine Spirits

Here’s what others say:

• Whisky.com Horst Luenin
• Honest Booze Review
• The Whisky Lady
• Miss Whisky (on the distillery)

PS Tobi from Barley Mania has an interview with Shane Fraser worth checking out here!

Other whiskies sampled in our experimental evening:

• Glenmorangie 10 year 40% – Unadulterated & Casked
• Wolfburn (Batch No 1) 40% (this post)
• Dailuaine (2002/2013) Cask No 7068, Bottle No 382 46% (G+MP for LMdW)

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