Wolfburn Single Cask #2014/767 5 Years Old 2014 (Ex-Bourbon)

A Wolfburn single malt, a 5 year old from 2014, cask 2014/767, bottled at 57.1%. Just 320 bottles were filled. Wolfburn is the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland, at Thurso in Caithness, where whisky has flowed again since 2013. Water comes from the Wolf Burn, the stream that runs past the distillery to the sea.

It was worked through the distillery's small copper stills, for a light, citrussy spirit with a sea air lift. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak for a honeyed sweetness. At just a few years old it is bright and fresh, the young coastal spirit to the fore. The light, clean make takes cask character readily across maturation. Hand filling and hand labelling are still the rule in the warehouses here. A young distillery, Wolfburn has built a following quickly since its first single malt in 2016. The far north air, salt laden and cool, lends the maturing spirit a coastal edge.

At cask strength 57.1% it is muscular yet fresh. Green apple, vanilla and a sea air lift, and honeyed vanilla comes through from the ex-Bourbon. It is fresh and fruity, the fruit and oak well matched. The finish is bright, fruity and coastal. This is a bright young single malt from Caithness.