METRO ATLANTA SCOTCH CLUB Tom’s 50 High-End Single Malt Tasting Landmark Diner (Buckhead), 3652 Roswell Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30305 - Ph: (404) 816-9090 February 22, 2017 (Wednesday) @ 7 PM - 6 High-End Single Malts - $50 WHISKY #1 WOLFBURN Single Malt / NAS (3-yr) / 46% ABV / NCF / OB / Dist Owner: Private consortium / Highland (Northern) Wolfburn Distillery Henderson Park, Thurso, Caithness KW14 7XW SCOTLAND Pronunciation: WOLF-burn (just as it looks) - SWA Whisky Map Location: TBA Translation: Apparently the area contains wolves that drink from Wolf Burn, the adjacent burn (brook or stream), and the source of the distillery’s name. Slogan: “From the last wilderness of Scotland” Region (District): Highland (Northern) - Neighbors: Pulteney, Clynelish/Brora and Balblair Established: August 2012; the original Wolfburn Distillery was operational from 1821 through 1877. All that remained was the flow of water that once fed the mash tun and stills many years ago. The team was convinced that if the water was still there, then the whisky could be too. Date of First Distillation: January 25, 2013 (on Robert Burns birthday) Founder: William Smith, founder and original distiller, was the grandfather of Sir William Alexander Smith. Sir William, the founder of the Boys Brigade, fought in the Napoleonic wars and retired in 1815. He operated the distillery beginning in 1827 and produced thousands of gallons of Wolf Burn whisky annually. Status: Active/Producing Distinction: Thurso is the most northerly town on Scottish mainland; in the largest peat bog area in Europe. Location: It is situated in a small industrial park and admittedly it doesn’t have the appearance of a classic distillery. But it was built to be a thing of beauty, but rather a distillery that would produce a cracking malt whisky and I believe that it is doing exactly that. Wolfburn has a coastal location near Thurso Bay which overlooks Pentland Firth towards the cliffs of Hoy on Orkney. This is the Flow Country, a vast area of wetlands and blanket peat, the largest peat concentration in Europe and, perhaps, in the world. And it’s the fabled haunt of the dreaded sea-wolf that was thought able to walk on water and yet bring good luck to anyone fortune enough to see it. The area was inhabited long before the Vikings arrived to give it its name. Existing written records date to era of Norse Orcadian rule when it was a major gateway to Scandinavia and northern isles. House Style-New Make: “Light, sweet and malty with notes of dried apricot, banana and light spice.” C. Maclean Water Source: Wolf Burn, a subterranean spring from its source in the Flow Country (upstream wetlands), travels for only a few miles above the ground before it reaches the sea (for both production & cooling). Barley: Concerto, one of the more prolific spring barley varieties, popular with British farmers and approved by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Our malt is supplied by Muntons PLC; 30-tons monthly based on current 6-day production week. “Wolfburn’s malted barley is some of the best I’ve ever seen,” said an industry expert. Malt Spec (Phenols): In 2015, 70%: 0-ppm (unpeated); 30% peated at 10-ppm (lightly peated). Review by A Rank Amateur (yours truly): 1 Gristmill: AR-2000 4-roller mill (Alan Ruddock Engr.), same model was installed at Ardnamurchan Dist in 2014. EYE: Pale like early summer barley. 1 Mashtun: 1 s/s copper-top mashtun (charged @ 1.1-tons); slow drainage from tun to WB results in clear wort. NOSE: Without Water: Big aromatic nose of 4 Washbacks: 4 s/s washbacks @ 6,000-L (charged @ 5,500-L) - Yeast: Anchor dry distillers yeast; xx-kg per WB. apple, apple cider. It says “young whisky” but there is nothing unpleasant whatsoever and Fermentation: 70-hrs (short); 92-hrs (long). 2-3 runs are always mixed in the spirit receiver before distillation. then it shouts “I’ll show you must more in a 2 Pot Stills: 1 Wash @ 5,500-L (charged @ X-L); 1 Spirit @ 3,800-L (charged @ X-L) few more years but I’m darn decent now”. Middle Cut: 73% ABV to 61 ABV. During distillation the stills are run slowly whilst not allowing the low wines Good wood notes that have already removed the fusel oil acetone notes. It’s one from ‘wash still’ to go below 20°C during collection. During collection from the ‘spirit still’ we have around 10- dimensional without my customary 3 or 4 minutes of foreshots, then traditional water clarity test is carried out to determine exactly when to go on spirit. drops of water. With Water: Opens up nicely Casks: 1/3 of production is aged in (1) 2nd fill quarter casks (from Laphroaig with residual peat reek), (2) 1st fill after 3 drops of water. An added level of bourbon HH & barrels, and (3) sherry butts. On-hand for the future: sherry HH and half-size 1st fill bourbons. vanilla, mellow wood and ripe fruit. Note: The empty glass nose (2 minutes out) is amazing Warehouse: 3 on-site dunnage warehouses with metal-cladding exteriors; 3,000 casks capacity. with wide range of spices, mellow aged vanilla Vatting & Bottling: On-site bottling hall. First bottling was in March 2016 (3-year old unpeated single malt). extract and ripe summer fruit. Very aromatic. Capacity: 135,000-Lpa per year (working 1-shift, 6-days a week) - Current Output: 132,000-Lpa (2016) PALATE: Without Water: This one really coats the tongue with nice summer fruit notes and Tours: By appointment (contact me to coordinate setting an appointment) - Visitor Center: None yet an unique balanced intensity provided by 46% OB’s: Wolfburn 3-year is a work-in-progress; the first release of 2,000 barrels was bottled in March 2016. ABV, non-chillfiltered malt. It suggests both Blending Role: Single Malt: 100%, Blends: 0% quality ingredients and a mashman and Notations: (1) Wolfburn (21-miles north of Pulteney Distillery) is the only distillery to be situated on Scotland’s distiller that got it right. With Water: It treats mid-palate with range of fruit & wood flavors. north coast. (2) It’s next to Scrabster Ferry Dock: Go to both Thurso (Wolfburn) & Orkney (Highland Park/Scapa)! FINISH: Without Water: Quite long. Because Management Team: Production Manager: Shane Fraser - Head Mashman: Iain Kerr of its unique tongue coating characteristic, it Tour Guide: Charlie Ross - Business Development Manager: Daniel Smith pleasantly lingers. It’s still rather one dimen- sional, but I like that dimension. With Water: Legal Name of Distillery: Wolfburn Distillers Ltd. (My thanks to Shane, Charlie & the mystery Managing Director) Improved with water; adds more nice fruit and Owner (Parent): Wolfburn Distillers Ltd. (Consortium of private investors), since 2012 good oak wood notes; an amazing empty glass U.S. Importer (Parent): Winebow Inc., NY, NY (The Winebow Group, Glen Allen, VA) Purchase Link: https://www.culinarylocal.com/event/single-malt-tasting-wolfburn-dalmore/ MASC -High-End Single Malt - 2/22/17 (Wednesday) @ 7PM - “Tom’s B-Day 50 for 50” - Landmark Diner - $50 At the Door nose. ‘Unique’, ‘well-made’, and ‘promising’. Elevation: 22-m MSL (72-feet above mean sea level) WHISKY #2 BRORA Single Malt / 1981 Vintage (24-yr) / CS 60.1% ABV / Single Cask # 06-656 / NCF / OB: Signatory Vintage (Andrew Symington) / Dist Owner: Diageo plc / Highland (Northern) Brora Distillery Brora, Sutherland KW9 6LR SCOTLAND Pronunciation: 'BOR-rah' - Map Location: #19 (Clynelish) Translation: Brora was derived from the ancient Norse language, meaning ‘river with a bridge’. Brora (in Scottish Gaelic, Brùra) is a village in the east of Sutherland, in northeastern Scotland. Slogan: Unknown Region (District): Highlands (Northern) Neighbors: Clynelish, Balblair and Glenmorangie Founder: The Marquess of Stafford (later first Duke of Sutherland) founded the original Clynelish Distillery in 1819 as part of his improvement plans for his wife’s vast northern estates during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. He cleared some 15,000 tenants off the estates in order to replace them with barley fields (to supply his new distillery) and with sheep for the metropolitan markets. In 1967, DCL built a new distillery which it named Clynelish Distillery next to the 1819 distillery. In August 1967, the old plant was briefly mothballed. In August 1968, it resumed operations and alongside the Clynelish A (the 1967 distillery) as ‘Clynelish B’. It (the 1819 distillery) was renamed Brora in 1975. Between 1969 and 1973, it produced a heavily-peated spirit for blending purposes. This was the result of, initially, Islay suffering from a drought (no water/no whisky) and then Caol Ila being rebuilt (1972-74). In 1973, Brora’s heavily peated production was cut back (sometimes unpeated) due Talisker’s contributions of same. It closed forever in May 1983 and Brora has since become a cult malt. Established: 1819 (it was opened during the midst of the Highland Clearances, the era during which the Highland lairds chose to evict the sharecroppers that had rented small plots to farm in exchange for a portion of the corps for the purpose of increasing their yield converting their estates into large scale farms and/or livestock ranches. It resulted in the landlords being enriched and a substantial portion of the sharecroppers immigrating to North America. Most of those that stayed moved to the central belt to work in industrial revolution factories. Founder: Scottish Malt Distillers built in alongside Brora (originally called Clynelish) Location: Located in the town of Brora in Scotland's far NE along the coast between Inverness and Wick with beautiful views of the North Sea to the east and the coast hills to the north.