Wolfburn 3 Year

 

Wolfburn is an interesting whisky, as it might be the youngest Scotch you can buy - aged only 3 years in bourbon barrels! It's also the northernmost distillery in mainland Scotland, in Thurso, which is pretty interesting all by itself. 

It's also presented well: 46% ABV, no chill filtering, no coloring. If you ever looked at those labels that said "20 year," "25 year," "30 year," and so on, but wondered about the other side of the spectrum, this is your dram. I really appreciate the honesty - it would have been so easy for them to simply give no age statement at all. Here we go...

Nose: Leather, tobacco, soft smoke, and some trails of vanilla. Overall a dry and sour nose. More time in the glass yields some bitter wood and medicinal flavors. With a little water, it sweetens up considerably with some bourbon barrel vanilla. 

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly viscous, thick mouthfeel.

Palate: Entirely savory, not a damned fruit to be found - and I love it. More smoke, leather jackets, young tobacco leaves, and BBQ char. Lime zest. As with the nose, water sweetens it a bit and brings out some vanilla notes. 

Finish: The smoke, while wispy, carries some malty flavors for a while, and sticks to your tongue. 

Verdict: I really like this - it shows that you shouldn't judge a dram by its age statement, that's for sure. Many Scotch drinkers will probably run from the 3 year age statement, but they are missing out: this is dry, smoky Highland stuff and reminds me faintly of the old Ardmore Traditional Cask. It's bracing, no-nonsense stuff that doesn't fart about with apples and oranges and pears, sticking instead to plain savory flavors and bourbon barrel influence. Worth your time in the $40 zone.