Wolfburn The Kylver Series – 1

This is release 1 of Wolfburn's Kylver Series, its single cask bottlings, named Fehu for a Norse rune. A 3 year old, bottled at 46%. Wolfburn brought whisky back to Thurso in 2013, reviving a name first raised in 1821 just up the burn. Everything is done by hand here, from milling to bottling, in the manner of a true small distillery.

The spirit was made by hand in copper stills at Thurso, to build a soft, fruity, coastal character. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, soft oak that lets the coastal fruit lead. Young here, it keeps a clean, fruity vigour over light vanilla. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, the wood adding much of the colour. It is the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland, a stop on the North Coast 500. Everything here is done by hand, from milling to bottling, the mark of a true small distillery. Most of the make is unpeated, with a lightly peated malt distilled since 2014 for a soft smoke.

At an easy 46% it is light. A fresh, fruity coastal sweetness, and ex-Bourbon oak gives vanilla and a light apple. 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.