New Wolfburn Release: Batch 155 – Scotch Whisky News
New Wolfburn Release: Batch 155
Wolfburn Distillery has today announces its fourth small-batch release, named Batch 155. Consisting of just 5000 bottles in total, it is the first whisky from Wolfburn to have been matured in one type of cask (first-fill ex-bourbon barrels for close to five years) then finished in another (six months in port hogsheads). The results are superb: a smooth, rich, easy drinking whisky, rich in colour and with a depth of sweet flavours from the port influence.
‘We’ve crafted Batch 155 from whisky matured in fresh bourbon casks laid down in 2014,’ commented Mark Westmorland, brand ambassador. ‘The spirit had already matured very nicely, even before it was transferred to a series of Fonseca ruby port hogsheads. The result is a truly special single malt, rich in colour and deep in flavour. It has been extraordinarily well received by everyone who’s tried it.’
Like previous Wolfburn small-batch releases, Batch 155 was named after the warehouse in which the casks were matured (Warehouse 1), and the specific row in which the casks were located (row 55).
‘We’ve been asked many times about doing a “finishing”’ comments Iain Kerr, distillery manager. ‘We managed to keep this one under wraps until the last minute. It’s been a lot of fun to make, and the results are really special. I hope our fans and followers around the world enjoy it as much as we do!’
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 26 countries globally.
Wolfburn Distillery, Henderson Park, Thurso, Caithness KW14 7XW
