Wolfburn Northland

Opened the sample of this after working in the yard in the (finally) warming sun. I was planning to sample another but I inadvertently opened this sample. Maybe that was good thing? The nose is faint, extremely faint, almost undetectable. Some floral and honey and granola can be found, but you need to put the work in to find almost anything (at least for me). Starting out on the left foot by making me work for aromas (a good nose really makes the experience much more enjoyable) the whisky arrived extremely lightweight. Slight honey sweetness with vanilla and caramel. A touch of smoke is detectable. After the brief sweetness, the palate gets a zing of young hotness of white pepper. All this leads to a short finish of light brown sugar, wood, cinnamon with a last bit of zing of fresh ginger root. This was a uninspiring, non-dynamic whisky. It finds a middle of the road but in doing so, finds itself lost in the crowd. Mediocre and average. The good thing….this leaves hopes for the sample I wanted to have. Pranay, thank you for the sample. [Dry Glass: could not detect anything][82/100][Tasted: 4/9/17]

Stop number 6 on the SDT is Wolfburn. This is the northernmost distillery in mainland Scotland. Although the age is not part of the name of this whisky, it is 3 years old and is part of the inaugural bottling of the distillery. Aged in ex bourbon quarter casks, it's 46% ABV and non chill filtered. It is also natural color of very pale white wine. The lightest color scotch I've ever seen, but in no way does that bother me. There is a very strong malty character initially on the nose. Bright citrusy notes, but also somewhat harsh like lemon pledge. Tart/sour apples. A little briny and medicinal with light peat smoke. Some nuttiness like walnuts. After sitting in the glass for a while there is a pear note and green grapes that show up. There's no mistaking that this is a young whisky, but it's not something I would turn my nose up at either. The palate is initially slight sour apples. Very peppery with a light peat smoke. A little vegetal with some oaky notes. More pepper. Again, young but good. Medium bodied mouthfeel, mouthwatering that turns semi dry. If you hold it too long in your mouth (20-30 seconds) it will numb the front half of the roof of your mouth. Medium length finish with a light smoke, pepper, oak and citrus. Imagine if you will, that Laphroaig and Glenfiddich had a baby. That baby then grew up and went to the prom with Talisker and after a few too many schnapps they did what many teenagers do and wound up with their own little bundle of joy. That's when we have here. It's medicinal and smoky with light fruit and maltiness and a strong peppery backbone. There is more complexity than I expected, but it's still young in many areas. Eager to see what this will become in 7-15 years. Thanks to Pranay for the sample.

This is one of Scotland's newest distilleries, located farther north than any other Highlander, making it more of an Islander. I really had high hopes for this one, but it has a ways to go; still a bit too young. It's crisp, fresh, lemon-y. Quick finish. It's not bad, but just a bit young and needs time to show its true potential. Between this and Ailsa Bay (can't help but compare since that has its first 3 Yr old out too), I prefer Ailsa Bay by far.