Tastes

Wolfburn tasting evening at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, May 30th 2019: Whisky #6 Nose: The signature distillery fruity/floral character is here but it's distant and obscured by uninteresting dark fruit aromas. There's also a taint like old mouldy laundry. The sherry character here could almost be described as an "oloroso stain", being dark, woody and stale. Palate: An attack that veers disturbingly towards dry sourness. What the hell is going on here? A dry and dark fruity development that devolves into a melange of discombobulated sherry and oak notes and develops the unpleasant aroma of rubber tires. The texture is good but the rest of the palate experience is plain confused. Finish: Medium. Fruit fading into a cereal after-image and a bitterish aftertaste. Have you ever had wet woolen socks that you've draped over a heater or in front of the fire to dry and then left too long? That's the aroma of this whisky - pungent damp woolliness, almost scorched, with a hint of sweaty feet. The culprit? Sulphur, sulphur, sulphur, sulphur ... how many times must it be repeated? I'm not particularly sensitive to sulphur in whisky (and a small amount is normal from most fermentations) but this is way over the top. Who the hell thought this was a good cask? They must have had a very bad cold that day. I have to rate this as the first poor Wolfburn I've tasted. It was apparently a one-off single cask bottling from Cask 131 (a 250 litre ex-oloroso hogshead) that yielded 280 bottles. It was commissioned by Bibendum Bar in Sydney and is exclusive to them. For some folks at the tasting this was a highlight but I wouldn't want to buy another taste, let alone a bottle - particularly not at the asking price. For that matter I wouldn't want to accept a free dram, but hey - it's all subjective so I guess this will float some people's boats. "Inferior" : 69/100 (1.75 stars)

Wolfburn tasting evening at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, May 30th 2019: Whisky #5 Nose: Big, sweet floral and fruity. Butterscotch and toffee with fruit aromas. There are some hints that remind you this is a young spirit (the slightly hard and almost gritty notes). On the whole this is very much like the Northland expression on steroids. A slightly soapy aroma is the only off note. Palate: Sweet and smooth with a somewhat hot arrival from the high abv (however there's no intrusive ethanol note). Some vanilla and the characteristic Wolfburn spice character is still present but it's now well into a supporting role. The texture is oily and quite thick. There is a briny intrusion but the main fault (if indeed it is a fault) of the palate is simplicity. There is no substitute for maturity, and this spirit needs more time in the cask to achieve greatness. Finish: Medium/long. The spicy notes are the main feature, and they gradually fade into a sweet aftertaste. Langskip (i.e. "longship") is a cask-strength release matured exclusively in first-fill bourbon casks for 5 years. It's a big, spirit-forward whisky as the casks have not had enough time to exert a lot of influence. Water opens the palate, increases sweetness and refreshes the spice notes, but it tends to reveal the simplicity of the profile at the same time. The only faults with this whisky are due to youth - it is a bit narrow of profile, short-lived and falls apart quickly. However what is present is all of a very high order. Obviously a young distillery needs to release product as soon as possible, and make no mistake, this is a good whisky, but I'd love to taste this with a further 5 years of maturation when it has gained some composure and authority. At that time it will probably be quite awesome. "Good" : 85/100 (4 stars)

Nose: A rubbery sherry note and some generic barley malt sugars. Pedestrian grain whisky and a little average malt, aged in mediocre multi-refill casks. Palate: The arrival starts off promisingly with hints of sweet cereal and mild fruitiness. However these expectations are dashed as the spirit almost immediately fractures into a confusion of hard, spirity, bitter flavours with an overtone of burnt wood and a thin texture. Finish: Thankfully short. A hot/bitter/sour tannic aftertaste. Inadequate for neat sipping and suitable only for drinking with a mixer over ice - and even with cola the hard bitter tannins still show through. This bottling replaced the old Family Reserve but apart from the livery it is exactly the same. Poor value and best avoided - there are several superior blended whiskies available at less cost. "Poor" : 62/100 (1 star)

Wolfburn tasting evening at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, May 30th 2019: Whisky #4 Nose: Fruity and floral, but darker in character and more mellow than the rest of the Wolfburn core range. The pear is now peach, the apricot nectar is dried apricot, the pineapple has been simmered in honey. The presence of sherry is more noticeable with some definite raisin notes and nutty hints. There's an inscrutable mellow maturity that is surprising given the age of the spirit, and a background aroma of vanilla. Palate: A sweet combination of sultanas, honey and cream that billows onto the palate upon arrival. Rich, rounded, silky and supple with a good texture - oily and full with caramel, maple syrup and toffee tones balanced by ginger and allspice. Almonds and cashews, a mild oak note with some cappuccino and dark chocolate in the background. Finish: Medium/long. Excellent. The palate seamlessly dissipates into a lingering honeyed dark fruit and cereal aftertaste, with a slightly savory overtone. This is a very good whisky for its age. Hand on heart - if you poured me a dram of this and asked me to guess the age I'd say it was 8-10 years old, but astonishingly it is just four and a half years old. 75% of the content was matured in half-sized (100 litre) first-fill bourbon casks, and 25% was matured in second-fill oloroso hogsheads. What Wolfburn has accomplished here is remarkable. They have distilled a balanced, fruity, elegant new-make that requires only modest maturation (although in very good casks, I'm sure) to produce whisky with character and charm in less than 5 years. It outclasses many drams of twice that age or more - compare this to recent 12 year old Fine Oak Macallan and the difference is frankly embarrassing (for the Macallan). They have pulled off this small batch trick three times in a row now. The No.128 and No.270 expressions were both great drams, but with this No.375 they have excelled themselves. If you have not tasted something by this young distillery (for heavens sake - their first spirit run was only 6 years ago!) then you are missing a great experience. Wolfburn is the far north coast Kilchoman, and they are on track to become the far north coast Springbank. This expression was overwhelmingly voted the best of the tasting session, and it sold out in minutes on the night. If you can find a bottle - buy it. “Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Wolfburn tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, May 30th 2019: Whisky #3 Nose: A very mild, almost shy peat-reek that dances around a fruity-floral distillate. Pineapple, tangerine, peach and apricot nectar, but in a subtle and dilute form. The initial nosing is floral, almost candied, with fruit and a touch of vanilla, but over time as the whisky rests and opens in the glass smoke becomes more apparent. It's a simple nose but the balance between the two key components is good. Palate: A sweeter and richer arrival than the stablemate Northland and Aurora expressions. The peat smoke is stronger on the palate than it is on the nose and the tasting notes are reversed - the smoke arrives first and then in the development the fruity and sweet notes emerge. There is a little hint of brine and the spicy kick in the development that is characteristic of young Wolfburn is here much less spiky and bright - more sweet chili sauce and ginger in syrup than black and white pepper. Raisin and sweet malt make an appearance and the texture is well balanced - just slightly on the creamy side of neutral. Finish: Medium/long. The spicy and smoke characteristics die away slowly and the finish is pleasant overall, but there is a bitter quality in the aftertaste. An enjoyable whisky produced using very lightly peated malt (<10ppm) and matured in a combination of 1st-fill and refill bourbon barrels and refill American oak quarter casks. I could easily have believed that there was a sherry cask making a small contribution, but no - it's 100% bourbon. However the sweetness is perfectly matched by a dry briny note that prevents it from becoming cloying. It is absolutely not a peat monster, and the peat-reek is unlike any Islay. It's gentle and fragrant - more like Speyside smoke - and it acts as an ingredient rather than the primary facet on the nose. This was a popular whisky at the tasting and I enjoyed it enough to buy a bottle. "Above Average" : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Wolfburn Masterclass at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, May 30th 2019: Whisky #2 Nose: A similar nose to the Northland expression - fruity and floral but substituting a sherry and dark fruit note for the musky brine. Well integrated, rounded and creamy with touches of marmalade, malt and brine. The sherry stays well controlled and acts more like a spice for the fruity distillate rather than striding to centre stage. Palate: A smoother, silkier and sweeter arrival than the Northland. The Wolfburn spicy burst is again present but here it is buffered by sherry. The texture is a little more rounded and overall this is less vibrantly bright than the all-quarter cask Northland. There is a little brine towards the conclusion. Finish: Medium. Spicy sweet with a sweet fruity and umami touch, and tailing off into an ever so faintly salt/sweet cereal finish. The maturation here is in a combination of 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrels and 1st-fill oloroso hogsheads. (Note - this is different to the cask regime stated in the description on this site, but it's correct. There is no quarter-cask component in contemporary Aurora). The whiskies are matured separately and then married in a ratio of 80% bourbon to 20% sherry. The more flavourful and active cask maturation gives this whisky a larger and fruiter presence, and to me it was different but equal in quality to the Northland expression. Northland allows the excellent Wolfburn new-make to be seen in all its naked glory, whereas here the sherry presence and the richness of the 1st-fill casks clothes the new make in sophisticated raiment. "Good" : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Wolfburn tasting evening at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, May 30th 2019: Whisky #1 Nose: Fruity and floral, with a very subtle musky note. A full nose focused on a few primary aromas but showing excellent integration and body and a certain amount of grip. There is a very light peaty hint that becomes more apparent as the whisky rests and opens, and a faint mist of brine. Palate: A spicy sweet arrival that suddenly explodes in a flash of peppery-spice heat in the development. This lasts a few seconds, and then rolls away as quickly as it appeared. There are a few sour-spice notes but these are balanced by a light honeyish nougat sweetness. The texture is very clean and crisp and over time a cereal presence becomes apparent. Finish: Medium. The palate falls away leaving a pleasantly mild sweet spice note. This is not a particularly complex whisky but that is not meant as a criticism. It has a crisp clarity of profile, a brisk, exuberant presentation and it is certainly not a lightweight. It has good structure - the nose has weight and presence that exceeds your expectations of a 3-year old whisky, and the palate has a satisfyingly youthful character. It has some similarity to Kilchoman 100% Islay. Northland has gone through some changes and is now quite different to early batches. Most importantly, maturation now takes place entirely in refill American oak quarter casks sourced from Laphroaig. You can just barely perceive the character of smoky whisky in the background, and once you know the cause you can almost believe you sense a whiff of Laphroaig. However what the casks actually contribute (besides accelerated maturation) is texture and body – the Laphroaig character is just a gauzy background curtain. Adding water makes little difference and I’d recommend taking this very pleasant whisky neat. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Nose: Brine (with a faint metallic tinge), over-ripe tropical fruits (mango, banana, papaya), earthy malt. There's a funky estery note on the nose almost like some rum, but the profile is clearly cereal. The nose continues to evolve over time, becoming more interesting as maritime notes build. Palate: Sweetly salty stewed fruit on the arrival - baked apples . As it develops more sweetness evolves - Seville oranges (the flesh and the peel), sultanas, Dundee cake sprinkled with oloroso sherry. The texture is light but not watery. Finish: Medium. Fruity and salty/sweet in the aftertaste with some spicy hints and a touch of nougat. There is a faint metallic note as on the nose, but it's not intrusive - just evidence of youth. An enjoyable NAS Old Pulteney expression that in comparison to their age statement bottlings comes across as notably "young". There are no particular off-notes, it just seems unexceptional. A dash of water does virtually nothing other than reveal a hint of vanilla and it neither bruises nor enhances the spirit. Take this one either neat or watered, as you prefer. It does gain some depth with a rest in the glass, but never quite manages to equal the standard 12 year old - let alone any of the older expressions. However you can't bring yourself to actively dislike this whisky and the finish is really pretty good. I don't regret buying this bottle duty free a few years back, but I won't be trying to replace it once it's finished. The official notes and rating here are bang on target. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)