Wolfburn Whisky: Five Years Old January 25th!

Wolfburn Distillery is today celebrating its fifth anniversary – its first cask was filled on
25^th January 2013.  Since that date the distillery has been in near constant production, and in the ensuring five years it has laid down almost 1.5 million bulk litres of spirit.

‘It continues to be an amazing adventure,’ says Shane Fraser, distillery manager. ‘For the first three years or so we only produced spirit and laid down casks. Then two years ago we installed our bottling plant and began selling whisky for the first time. The reaction has been unbelievable – our whisky is now distributed in 27 countries all around the world, it’s won multiple gold medal awards, and sales are miles higher than we anticipated. The five years since filling the first cask have simply flown past.’

Wolfburn’s Highland whisky has garnered an immediate reputation for excellence.  The distillery’s Northland expression is the only newly released single malt whisky to have won gold medals in four consecutive international competitions, and the successive Aurora and Morven expressions have attracted equally glowing reviews. Simultaneously, Wolfburn’s limited release whiskies have become the target of collectors globally, with a bottle of the inaugural release recently selling at auction in the US for over $1000.

‘At the end of the day, it’s lovely to be making a product that so many people enjoy,’ states Shane. ‘Not much in life is as good as a dram of fine single malt whisky, and I’m very, very proud of the whisky that Wolfburn is producing – it really is world class.’

Photograph:

Shane Fraser, Wolfburn distillery manager, and Iain Kerr, deputy manager, with Wolfburn’s first ever cask – laid down five years ago today.

ABOUT WOLFBURN: 

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 around 1870.  The reasons for its closure are lost in time, but by 1877 the newly produced Ordnance Survey maps showed it being in ruins.

In 2011 plans were laid to resurrect the old distillery. Construction began in 2012 and in January 2013 the new Wolfburn Distillery commenced production, thereby becoming the most northerly distillery on the Scottish mainland.  Situated 300m 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 single malt scotch whisky.  Wolfburn’s single malt scotch whiskies are now available in 27 countries globally.

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

www.wolfburn.com

www.facebook.com/wolfburn