Wolfburn It’s the most wonderful time of the year

A Wolfburn single malt, an 8 year old, bottled at 46%. Just 1800 bottles were filled. Wolfburn brought whisky back to Thurso in 2013, reviving a name first raised in 1821 just up the burn. Water comes from the Wolf Burn, the stream that runs past the distillery to the sea.

It was drawn off a single pair of Forsyths copper stills, for the light, fresh, maritime make Wolfburn is known for. Maturation in a sherry cask laid dried fruit over the coastal fruit. By this age the young spirit rounds into orchard fruit and a gentle oak. The maritime setting lends a faint salt to the maturing spirit. The original Wolfburn, founded in 1821 by William Smith, was once the largest distillery in Caithness before falling silent in the 1860s. The new distillery stands about 350 metres from the old ruins, sharing the Wolf Burn that names them both. It is the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland, a stop on the North Coast 500.

At 46% it is soft, fruity and clean. A crisp, coastal fruit, and the Oloroso adds figgy fruit and a warm nuttiness. Soft orchard fruit and honey sit behind the cask. The close is fresh, fruit over a clean oak. This is the light coastal malt of Thurso.