Wolfburn Whisky Batch 128, 46%

Notes by the distillery

Nose: Fresh out of the sample bottle in to the glass there’s an initial big hit of tobacco smoke – this subsides very quickly and is no longer discernible after a short period of resting. Lemon peels are sweetened by toffee, honey and vanilla notes. Warming peat is ever-present, but never overwhelming and is part heathery, part smoky. There’s an underlying earthiness and mild salinity, both of which I’d associate with Wolfburn’s spirit.

Taste: Sweet honey first and then apples, and honey-dew melons make for a really fresh, crisp and clean experience. Light vanilla, and light smoke, as with the nose, the peating is very sympathetic. Again, there’s quite some difference when rested with development lengthened and flavours deeper and more complicated.

Finish: Medium length finish with a well-judged level of tannic astringency from the increased contact with the smaller barrel.

Notes by Alex Polasek

Farbe: Dunkles Mahagoni (Hennarot)

Bukett: Vanille, Toffee, leichte Rauchnoten, getrockneter Apfel, Muskat.

Gaumen: Süssliche dunkle Schokolade, getrocknete Aprikosen und Orangen, Komplexe würzige Aromen entfalten sich mit der Zeit.

Körper: süsslich und rund.

Finish: Lang, würzig und mit etwas Rauch.

Notes by Whiskyfun (Serge Valentin)

No. 128 was excellent (WF86) and this has more than double the figures (270 vs. 128!), so we’re expecting much… (someone will have to explain all this in details to you, S.) Colour: straw.
Nose: some light smoke this time, gravel, soot, muddy waters, vase water, whelks, beach sand… You see… Some fruity varnish as well.
Mouth: we’ve known Coal Ilas… Smoked pineapples and pears, just a wee-wee acetone-y touch, a blend of fruit syrup with brine, and the thinnest slice of gherkin. Finish: long, almost perfect, just a wee tad ‘superficial’. As if the 128 was a tad more profound, but then I haven’t got that one on the table. Comments: still very impressive. Now they could do it like Kilchoman, give us the ages, even if the numbers are low. We don’t care about numbers or ages, we care about transparency. Whatever, love Wolfburn anyway.

SGP:634 - 84 points.