Wolfburn Distillery Thurso,Caithness, April 2014

Wolfburn Distillery Fills Its 1,000th Cask

Wolfburn Distillery today achieved the production milestone of filling its one thousandth cask. A total of 811 casks were filled in 2013; this week the 189th cask of 2014 was filled, making a grand total of 1,000.

“It’s a huge achievement,” comments Shane Fraser, production manager. “We reached the magic 1,000 number quicker than expected – and even better, we have done it without compromising on quality.”

The spirit laid down in 2014 will only be bottled as whisky in 2017 – and even then the vast majority of casks will be held back for longer maturation. “This year we have laid down more spirit in large ex-sherry casks,” explains Shane. “They will produce really lovely whisky but it will benefit from longer aging, so we’ll keep most of it to mature for many more years.”

Wolfburn’s inaugural whisky is expected in the first quarter of 2016. It will be made from spirit laid down during the early part of 2013. “There’s still a long way to go until we start bottling,” says Shane, “but we’re ahead of projections in almost every aspect of the business and very much looking forward to being able to share our whisky with the world.”

Photograph: Production manager Shane Fraser fills Wolfburn’s 1,000th cask (No.189 of 2014) – an ex-bourbon quarter cask, which holds approximately 130 litres of spirit.

ABOUT WOLFURN:

The original Wolfburn Distillery was founded just to the west of Thurso by William Smith in 1821. In its day it was one of the largest distilleries in Scotland, producing, according to HMRC records, 28,056 “gallons of proof spirit” in a single year. Taking its name from the stream that provided the water – the Wolf Burn – the distillery operated until the 1860s. The reasons for its closure are lost in time, but by the 1870s the newly produced Ordnance Survey maps showed it being in ruins.

In 2011, plans were laid to resurrect the old distillery. Construction began in mid-2012 and in January 2013 the new Wolfburn Distillery commenced production, thereby becoming the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland. Situated 350m from the site of the original distillery, the new Wolfburn operates in much the same way as the old: craftsmen use traditional methods to produce fine spirit, which is laid down in best quality oak casks to await the day when it is bottled as whisky.

Wolfburn Distillery, Henderson Park, Thurso, Caithness KW14 7XW

www.wolfburn.com