Rating: 9/23 So the Wolfburn Aurora wasn't very good. I don't have high hopes here, but let's give it a shot. N: I get some smoke, but not really peat. It has a light scent with a dry wood character that reminds me a bit of mesquite and barbecue, sort of like Corsair Wildfire. There's a bit of hay coming through and there's a hint of sweetness coming off of the mesquite that I briefly imagined to be barbecue sauce, but honestly that was probably just a metal association. There's a bitter herbal smell that carries a bit of mint with it too. This is a lot of effort to describe a light nose that gives me a bit of a knock-off Corsair Wildfire barbecue vibe though. It isn't bad, but it's far from enticing. P: Wow, that palate has more flavor than I expected. And it's sweeter too! I immediately get a hit of smoke and it comes with some peat too. There's kind of an apple flavor along with a hint of orange juice and a hint of meatiness, and also some light mesquite, giving it a real barbecue vibe. It's kind of fun, but whereas I kind of give Corsair a pass for its quirky barbecue flavor because it's a quirky distillery located down South - the home of barbecue - I have trouble with this flavor in a scotch. There are some minerals in here as well that make it especially light. I think it's a bit less harsh than the Wolfburn Aurora is, but it is still somewhat harsh and I do get that alcohol flavor. The palate isn't bad, but it certainly isn't good. Its quirkiness is also trying. F: The smoke remains and hints of fruit occasionally waft by. It still reminds me of mesquite and therefore makes me think of barbecue. The finish isn't that great, but it's possibly my favorite part because of how it all fades into barbecue. No minerals or barley to worry about; just a nice smoky finish. So this is surprising because of how weird it is. I'm pretty sure I'd take it over the Aurora most days, but that isn't exactly a high bar. This is one of those rare cases where the quirkiness doesn't win extra bonus points from me. It's been done before, it's been done better, and it doesn't fit in here. Going back to my current cheap scotch benchmark of Sir Edward's 12, how does this compare? Well, I like the core flavor of Sir Edward's a bit better, but the smokiness in the finish here is quite nice and there isn't that oiliness or any other weird flavors. This is definitely harsher though. I'm inclined to put this just a hair below Sir Edward's 12, which I think makes it a high 8 to low 10. So I'm going with 9. This vaguely reminds me of Corsair Wildfire mixed with Springbank 10, but it's somehow nowhere near as good as either. I'm really just citing Springbank here for the lightness and hay though. SBS, Springbank 10 is divine, with tremendous complexity and maturity, whereas this is thoroughly uninspiring. Similarly, Corsair Wildfire is spiced, funky, and rich in a way that makes me want to drink a glass by a toasty fire in my bathrobe on Christmas, while this is light and bland. I think a 9 is probably earned here, but that's as high as I'm willing to go. Ah, and now I read that Wolfburn only started bottling again in 2016. So this is young stuff, but they've demonstrated that they know how to deal with incredible youth. It's no Port Charlotte 10, but it isn't 10 years old either. I wouldn't buy a bottle now, but I look forward to trying it again when they release a 10 or 12 year. Weirdly, the Distiller tasting notes in no way describe the dram I tried. I'm sure I've disagreed more strongly in the past, but I'm really surprised by how normal it's described here. I would not describe this dram as normal.