Wolfburn No. 270

Wolfburn's Small Batch release No. 270, named for the warehouse and stow the casks came from. A 3 year old, bottled at 46%. Set on the wild Caithness coast at Thurso, Wolfburn has made single malt since 2013. The core range runs Northland, Aurora, Morven and Langskip, each named for the far north.

Distilled by hand in a single pair of copper stills on Wolf Burn water, building the fresh far north style. A refill bourbon cask held it, keeping the clean character to the fore. At a youthful age the fruit is lively and the malt clean. A patient maturation suits the light, coastal Wolfburn character. The stills came from Forsyths of Rothes, the most respected still maker in the business. The distillery sits among the rugged scenery of Caithness, near the cliffs and beaches of the north coast. 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.

At 46% it is clean and coastal. A light, citrussy fruitiness, and the refill bourbon lends a quiet vanilla. 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.