The Basics:

Character: Fresh, hot, and faintly maritime.

Score: 85/100

The details:

The town of Thurso is about as far north as you can go and still be on the Scottish mainland, and it’s the only town worthy of the name on the north coast. On clear days, you can see across the water to the Orkney islands, lying north of the Pentland Firth. Somewhere way back in the early 19th century, there was a distillery called Wolfburn on the outskirts of town, its name taken from its water source.

By the time I visited Thurso at the end of the 90s, the old Wolfburn would have been a distant memory; the closest mainland distillery would have been Pulteney, in the North Sea herring port of Wick, or Scapa, located on the largest of the Orkneys. The original Wolfburn distillery had vanished by the second half of the 19th century, and it wasn’t until 2013 that Aurora Brewing built the current distillery, stealing the crown of northernmost mainland distillery from Pulteney (talks of a distillery at John o’ Groats would shift the title once more). 

The first round of regular releases from the new distillery were simply called “Wolfburn” and I picked up this bottle at auction for retail price, give or take. Quite a variety of expressions have followed, some emphasizing bourbon maturation, some emphasizing sherry, some gently peated and some not, some at cask strength, and all that I’m aware of passing most of the marks for integrity presentation; the flagship no-age statement expression is now called “Northland” rather than just “Wolfburn”. My experiences with the whiskies have been quite positive so far, well made youngsters with a slightly maritime Highland character. This early mainline release is probably the least inspired whisky I’ve had from Wolfburn, and it’s quite a likable little dram; obviously young, but with an intriguing fresh, slightly mineralic, slightly maritime character. Many of Scotland’s newest distilleries (e.g. Ardnamurchan and Daftmill) have already attracted cult followings, and for reasons unknown, Wolfburn has seemed to fly a bit under the radar; I’d certainly recommend trying it before it, too, becomes consumed by buzz.

Wolfburn, 46% abv

Tasting notes:

Nose: Rather fresh and spirity, as one might expect for an approximately 3 year old whisky. Freshly cut grass and also maritime notes–rusted iron and salt. Just a whiff of smoke. Buttered toast.

Body: Medium

Palate: Rather hot and chili-like. Savory, like BBQ chicken. Iron. Some malt. A noticeable woody smokiness and also pepper. Salted caramel. All comes together into a very appealing balance.

Finish: Chocolate with sea salt and chili. Very gentle woodsmoke. Rather long.

Score: 85/100

Who should buy it?: Lovers of wolves and maritime whiskies; people who like seeing what Scotland’s young guns are up to.

Overall thoughts: Slightly hot, young, and rough around the edges, but quite tasty and enjoyable, and showing lots of promise for the future.

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