Wolfburn Liquor Mountain 3 Years Old 2015 (60.4%)

A Wolfburn single malt, a 3 year old from 2015, cask 316, bottled at 60.4%. Just 174 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. A long fermentation builds the fruity esters the casks then frame. 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. The original Wolfburn, founded in 1821 by William Smith, was once the largest distillery in Caithness before falling silent in the 1860s.

At a full 60.4% it is bold and fruity. Green apple, vanilla and a sea air lift, and honeyed vanilla comes through from the ex-Bourbon. The texture is light and fresh, the fruit lifted by a coastal salt. The finish runs light, coastal and crisp. This is Wolfburn's clean, coastal Thurso single malt.