Wolfburn is one of the newest kids on the block that has come on steam three years ago. They recently released their first real whiskies, with this one being the first normal release. There was a inaugural release, but from my perspective that was sold more as a collector’s item than anything else, since the price was really high for a three year old. Also, there was the wooden box and all kinds of luxury.

Anyway,  the first three year old. No small thing for a new distillery to get to that milestone. As far as I know they didn’t market the this out of it and just announced that the whisky would be there.

Clever guys as they are, they sent out some spirit samples a few years ago to show how promising everything already was, and it was promising. They try to make whisky in a slightly more old fashioned style, like it might have been a hundred years ago when there also was a distillery in Thurso.

Sniff:
It’s still young and spirity (really, Sjoerd, really?) but much more rich than I expected. Lots of straw and grass. Some dried herbs and some oak. Slightly earthy with dead leaves.

Sip:
The palate is a bit sharp and light, but not thin at all. Slightly tingling and dry, again with those leafy herbs. Some sawdust, straw, barley and dry, dusty dirt. There is some oak, but not much of it and I don’t think they tried to force it onto the whisky to make it taste older.

Swallow:
The finish is nice and quite consistent with the palate. It’s a bit more sweet than before and there’s a touch of vanilla. Quite long, for such a young whisky.

While this obviously is a very young spirit, it is a very nice one. Every bit of it is really promising and if they keep the oak in check they might be on their way to a really good, spirit driven drink.

I love the fact that the straw, barley and light herbs are driving the flavors of this dram and that it’s not some overly vanilla-y whisky that are so popular right now. I think there’s mostly refill bourbon casks in the mix and that’s a clever choice. Great stuff, recommended!

85/100

Wolfburn ‘Hand Crafted’, 3yo, 46%. Available everywhere for just under 50 euros.