.wolfburn - first official release

On the 25th of January 2013, the first spirit of the Wolfburn distillery flowed through their spirit safe. Having created a satisfying spirit from the get go, they matured quite a lot of it in smaller "quarter casks", that had previously held whisky from another (undisclosed) distillery. This affected the whisky well enough, to release a three year old spirit, not long after their third birthday.

46% abv, €45
single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour, 

Nose: sweet, vanilla, sweetened whipped cream, caramel fruit, raisins, apples, apple pie, spices, allspice, cinnamon, citrus, blood orange peel

Palate: sweet, creamy mouth feel, spicy, freshly ground black pepper allspice, a hint of cloves, citrus, blood oranges 

Finish: spicy, allspice, hints of cinnamon, white pepper, warm, creamy, rather long, thick sweet and creamy for quite a while
Mark: +++++ 

Conclusion: there are still some hints detectable of the spirit, but the cask definitely has had a strong influence in the flavour. If I would have tasted this blind, I might have missed it was only a three year old whisky - there is not much wrong here. I, for one, am curious what this whisky will have become in another couple of years. At this rate, they will have a very mature product in no time...

.wolfburn - new make spirit - 10ppm

Eighteen months after starting the distillation of their 3.500 litres un-peated spirit each week, the Wolfburn distillery purchased their first batch of 10ppm peated malt, creating a touch of smokiness to their wonderful spirit...

69.9% abv, €not for sale
single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: wet barley, sweet, raisins, cream, a touch of smoke, floral hints, heather, a hint of eucalyptus

Palate: spicy, allspice, sweet, raisins, creamy mouth feel, touches of lavender, hints of eucalyptus, smoke and liquorice root

Finish: creamy, sweet, raisins, hints of lavender and smoke
Mark: +++++ 

Conclusion: I would love to see this mature further into a fine young lass. considering the low (10ppm) phenol levels and the high alcohol, she is already really easy going and I expect we will be having lots of fun with her in the not so distant future. I am unaware of any plans to do a distillate with higher phenol levels, but I can imagine the spirit is strong enough to cope with a little more. Burn, witch, you know you can handle a little more...

.wolfburn - new make spirit

On our last trip to Scotland, we visited the Wolfburn distillery and requested for a sample of their new make spirit for our collection and a proper tasting note.

69.9% abv, €not for sale
single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: wet malt, grainy, fruity, banana peel, creamy, raisins

Palate: sweet, fruity, a touch of apples, banana, creamy, in spite of the high abv, a hint of heather

Finish: floral, heather, lavender, sweet, a slight rough edge
Mark: +++/++ 

Conclusion: I wouldn't directly drink a lot of it in one go, but it sure is one hell of a spirit. The rough edge is to be expected from a new make spirit, but considering the almost 70% abv, the roughness is nothing more than a tiny tattoo on her ankle.

.wolfburn - 2yo

The first Wolfburn distillates just turned three, so the most Northern whisky distillery on Scottish mainland is now officially a whisky distillery. This particular spirit was distilled in 2013, has matured in a 2nd fill quarter cask ever since, and was poured to us at the Potstill festival in Amersfoort.