Wolfburn Sherry Quarter from a long time coming

Wolfburn is a distillery that opened doors in 2013 and has quietly gathered a good following. They release whisky under varying names regularly and last year presented a brand new 10 years old to the world, that I reviewed with some mixed feelings for Maltfascination. I was a bit underwhelmed. Around that same time I got an e-mail saying the shares I bought in two Wolfburn Quarter Casks (see photo below the notes or click here) were ready to be put into glass.

I had actually forgotten I had those, this is the fun of buying into whisky that is still maturing, so when the time came I received a handsome box of six Wolfburn bottles, divided 3 by 3 between a single bourbon quarter cask and a sherry quarter cask. The latter I will be reviewing here today. You won’t find it in stores, since this was all done privately, but it may give you an impression of Wolfburn for when you run into opportunities yourself.

Wolfburn 2014, 9 years old, bottled at 56,9 % abv

 Makeup: Taken from a sherry quarter cask with cask number 511. The vintage is 2014.

General impressions: The gentle light brown colour suggest the cask behaved moderately, and that is probably for the better considering it was a lot smaller than a regular cask. The aroma coming from the glass is drenched on glue, saw dust, the minty pine I've come to associate with Wolfburn, and to conclude nice dark woodsmoke. It is a very clean and balanced impression.

It's time for a sip. Good God almighty, this is a strangely dry dram! Like chewing on the back of your pencil. The taste is a mixture of a bunch of different nuts and delicious dark chocolate. The pressure cooking of the quarter cask AND leaving it in there for 9 years is obvious, but it has not become overly wood-infused. The dark roast feeling of the finish lingers for a long time. On tasting this before, I had trouble finding any fruity notes, but now I do pick up a sweet ‘n sour note, like the stuff they give you at McDonald’s for your chicken nuggets. The finish lingers like a cigar you put away in your ashtray but does not go out. Seething away with a crispy sound.

Conclusion: This is a love it or hate it whisky. It has so much character that I, speaking for myself, adore it. In today's market, you will have difficulty finding such an un-commercial single malt. Very robust, to play with next to a crackling fireplace.

Score: 85 points

Disclaimer: taken from a self-owned bottle.

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