Wolfburn The Kylver Series – 6

This is release 6 of Wolfburn's Kylver Series, its single cask bottlings, named Kaunaz for a Norse rune. A 6 year old from 2014, bottled at 50%. Wolfburn is the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland, at Thurso in Caithness, where whisky has flowed again since 2013. Everything is done by hand here, from milling to bottling, in the manner of a true small distillery.

The spirit was run through the distillery's one wash and one spirit still, for a clean, fruity make. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak for a honeyed sweetness. Past five years the make gains a fuller fruit while staying fresh. Hand filled and hand bottled, each cask is followed closely from fill to glass. 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 50%, undiluted, it is bright and full. Pear, honey and a clean malt, and honeyed vanilla comes through from the ex-Bourbon. The mouthfeel is light, the fruit carried on a clean body. A long, fruity finish carries a coastal lift. This is a clean, fruity Highland single malt.