As I've already written a "Newer Distilleries" blog on Wolfburn this one will concentrate on their whiskies which we tasted on the night.
Unfortunate Wolfburn weren't able to be with us on the night, it's a long way from Thurso to Carlisle, but instead they sent us a bottle of each of their four malts to try!
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| Wolfburn's four whiskies |
"Four?" you ask, yes "Four" I said! We were very lucky to be able to have the first bottle of their new whisky : Morven to try!
Maltman Mike introduced us to the distillery then the pair of us took it in turns to introduce the whiskies as samples were poured to try.
First up Mike talked about the Northland
Whisky : Northland (NAS)
Characteristics : 700ml, 46% ABV. NCF Non-coloured
Price : £45
Colour : Pale Gold
Nose : Citrus fruit with some saltiness rounded off with a little peat smoke - delicious!
Palate : Sweet honey and some nuttiness.
Finish : A little bitter with some spice and smoke.
Overall : The youthfulness of the whisky come through on the palate - it's a little rough around the edges but I think you'll struggle to find anything better at this age.
Then I described the Aurora and No.128
Whisky : Aurora (NAS)
Characteristics : 700ml, 46% ABV. NCF Non-coloured
Price : £43
Colour : Gold
Nose : A little sherry in this one as expected making it quite different from the Northland. A little bread dough or porridge, again with some nuts.
Palate : Some pear and a little bitter orange, more of the porridge and a little sherry.
Finish : Shery with a little spice.
Overall : A different dram from the Northland, obviously due to the different casks used to mature the spirit. A think overall I preferred the slightly peaty Northland at this stage.
Whisky : No. 128 (NAS)
Characteristics : 700ml, 46% ABV. NCF Non-coloured
Price : £70
Colour : Gold
Nose : Vanilla and peat smoke dominate with a little chocolate orange developing.
Palate : Apples, honey and sultanas, like that baked pudding my mum used to make when I was young! The peat smoke is always there but not dominating and a little vanilla develops over time - yummy!
Finish : Slightly drying with a lovely smokey finish.
Overall : I loved this dram, much preferring it to the first two! I am a bit of an Islay fan boy and love peaty whisky - this wasn't anywhere near an Islay but the smoke was just enough to satisfy - one to try if you can't take a full-on Islay yet!
Finally Mike introduced, for the first time in the world!, the Morven! House Of Malt were really excited about this one and really pleased to have the exclusive - it's going to be one of Wolfburn's standard drams using peated barley - look out for it next month when it becomes available here!
Whisky : Morven (NAS)
Characteristics : 700ml, 46% ABV. NCF Non-coloured
Price : £45
Colour : Pale Gold - a little paler than the peated No. 128
Nose : Pear drops dominate with a little salt, over time vanilla and peat smoke develop with the pear drops changing to more pear and apple fruit.
Palate : Sweet and oily on the tongue with a little peat smoke with them orchard fruits coming through again with a little spice.
Finish : Drying with a long smokey finish.
Overall : This is a lovely dram, it's different from the No. 128 more orchard rather than citrus fruits. You wouldn't guess it was only 3 or 4 years old, showing that Wolfburn have some excellent spirit which through the use of some good wood is maturing into great whisky - get some!
All the bloggers at the back of the room busy scribbling notes, but I think this is the first published review of Wolfburn's Morven!
Overall a fantastic set of drams, all under 4 years old, it just shows what you can achieve when you have the passion and commitment to create some craft whisky!
Many thanks to Wolfburn for supplying the whiskies!
Back to the #GBMM2017 introduction!
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