Welcome back to another fine pairing of two single malts! Today I am tasting a scotch from a pretty new distillery, which has been quickly establishing itself among whisky connoisseurs. The spirit is young, but it’s already showing plenty of promise in the quality alone, and the people have noticed! This is my first go at the Wolfburn on offer, and I’m jotting down my notes as they come. Because I’m entirely new to this whisky, I’ll also be sipping some of my favourite and very much familiar Scotch on the side – the Balvenie 12-year-old DoubleWood. I won’t describe that here, but I’m using it as a baseline to compare the Wolfburn attributes. So come along on the ride, and maybe we’ll learn something stunning together. But first, we need music! Now Playing: ASC – Hiding In Plain Sight.

Located in Thurso, Caithness, in the Scottish Highlands, Wolfburn is a modern distillery with historical roots dating back to the 19th century. Founded in 2013, it is situated close to the site of the original Wolfburn Distillery, which was operational between 1821 and 1872. The current distillery seeks to preserve the traditional methods of whisky production while incorporating modern technology. Wolfburn Distillery produces a range of single malts, which include Northland, Aurora, Langskip, some small batch bottlings (including the No. 204), and Morvin, which I will be trying today. The distillery website provides a fun infographic on their process, which I will embed in this article with all credit given to them [at the bottom]. I am excited to try it, so let’s get to it! I will begin with No. 204 first because I think this whisky is younger and less smoky. It is uncoloured and non-chill filtered and immediately earns my integrity star. It is bottled at 46% ABV and, after spending the majority of its life [unknown how long] in half-size, first-fill, ex-bourbon barrels, it was finished in a first-fill ex-Madeira cask. This was most likely done for two reasons – one, as just another experiment [and why not?] to see how the whisky takes onto the second maturation; and two, because it is indeed young, so why not add a bit of an extra flavour and roundness from a [probably] fresh ex-Madeira [maybe even quarter] cask. Let’s go in for a taste! This whisky is thick, chewy, malty, and a little woodsy, with some honey-sweet bananas. I don’t particularly taste Madeira, but then I don’t taste any bourbon here either, so I would say that any sweetness is attributed to that ex-Madeira finish. It’s got a short to medium finish, which is characteristic of a younger Scotch. It easily stands up to my benchmark Balvenie, which feels a lot leaner next to No. 204. That extra 6% in ABV and non-chill filtration is what gives this whisky some extra thickness but also slight bitterness on the edges. There is a little too much wood in there for my preference, and I really wish to taste a lot more of Madeira, but it’s a solid, punchy single malt.

Let’s move on to the Morven, which, unlike the “hand-crafted” small batch release [whose number apparently comes from the warehouse and stow number], is more of a standard fair and is part of the core range. I say “standard”, but this is truly unlike any mid-shelf whisky I have had. First, because, again, this is uncoloured and non-chill filtered, even at 46% ABV, and so another big integrity star for the distillery! This lightly peated whisky is made from malted barley “infused with smoke” during the drying process. “The flavour imparted by the smoke is a reflection of Wolfburn’s history – the original 19th Century distillery was largely fired by peat.” There is no age stated on this bottle (mine is a 50ml miniature), but it does hint at an ex-Islay cask. It’s still a very young spirit, and it was matured in ex-bourbon barrels and quarter casks. The latter is used to “speed up” the process just a little bit, allowing the liquid to have more contact with the wood and extract that flavour. But keep in mind – it doesn’t really age the whisky faster. It just needs much less time to pull out all that relish from the cask. You actually wouldn’t want to leave a whisky longer in a quarter cask as it will overcook and taste like wood chips and sawdust. But the younger whiskies definitely take well to the quarter cask (and octaves). Let’s go in for a taste! The Morven feels more integrated and a little softer, with a tad of smoke and oakiness. And it’s a regular ashy smoke – no earthy or medicinal peat here. The honey sweetness is still there, but I think I like it with the smoke a bit this time. Again, there are a lot less maritime notes and more bbq smoke in this one, as the spiciness takes over the overall mouthfeel. I’m almost anaesthetic by the end of this pour (did I drink it too quickly?), and certain areas of my mouth are nearly numb from the phenols. I also drank it neat [and fast] without any water. Perhaps next time [oh, and there will be next time, I am sure], I will try it with a drop instead.

Name	No. 204	Morven
Distillery / Region	Wolfburn / Highlands	Wolfburn / Highlands
Producer	Aurora Brewing	Aurora Brewing
Bottler / Series	Distillery bottling / Small batch	Distillery bottling / core range
Stated Age / Vintage	5 years old / 2015	NAS
Cask type	Half-size, first-fill, ex-bourbon + 1st fill madeira	Ex-bourbon [Islay?] barrels
ABV / Cask Strength	46% ABV / No	46% ABV / No
Non-chill filtered/ Uncoloured	Yes / Yes 🌟	Yes / Yes 🌟
Price	£70-80	£40-43
Did it win? / Did I like it?	No / Yes, but a bit woodsy for me	Yes / Yes – it’s fantastic!
Would I buy it? / Recommend it?	No / Yes, if you have tried all Wolfburn	Yes / Yes – amazing value for the money

So there you have it, folks. Don’t get me wrong, I did like No. 204, but feel that Morven is just better. There are a few reasons for that. First, look at that price! You can’t beat a price of £40 for great-tasting integrity whisky! It blows all Johnnie Walkers out of the water! And yes, better than my beloved Balvenie! Even if it’s a non-age statement! Second, albeit I enjoy the finishes, I think here it was more experimental in a way, and I am just not ready for that from a new distillery. I want to be able and taste their signature spirit. And third, and final reason – I’m partial to the smoke! And what a surprise from this one! So, with that said, I will proclaim the Wolfburn Morven as the winner of this round, and yes, I definitely recommend you grab a bottle of this stuff!

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