Assery
A farm distillery in Caithness, licensed in 1798 but closed the same year.
Wolfburn
Distillery & brand
Scotland’s most northerly mainland distillery takes its beastly name from its nearby water source.
Wolfburn distillery
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Wolfburn uses a 1.1 ton mash and draws off clear worts which are then given a long fermentation before distillation in a wash still with capacity of 5.5k litres, and a spirit still which can hold 3,600 litres. Maturation takes place in predominantly ex-Bourbon casks, but some ex-Sherry are used. Its new make is malty, fruity and sweet with a floral hint.
Wolfburn History
Thurso is the most northerly town on the British mainland, but perhaps surprisingly it didn’t have a distillery for over 160 years. The first plant, called Wolfburn after the distillery water source, was opened by William Smith in 1821 and was run by the same family until 1837. In the 1820s it was the largest producer in Caithness. It appears to have closed in 1837 before David Smith ran it for one year in 1852, though there are claims that it continued intermittently into the 1860s.
The opening of 21st century Wolfburn was more of an exercise in archaeology than a process of bringing a disused plant back to life. Little more than a mound of stones showed where the original site had been. Its new owners built as close as they could to the spot – and use the same water source. The ground was broken on August 2012 and production commenced on 25 January 2013.
Timeline
- 1821 The original Wolfburn distillery is opened by William Smith in Thurso
- 1837 The distillery ceases operation
- 1852 David Smith purchases the site and runs the distillery for just one year
- 2012 Aurora Brewing, a private consortium from Caithness, receive planning permission to rebuild Wolfburn 350m from the now ruins of the original distillery
- 2013 Production commences at Wolfburn
Wolfburn Facts
-
- Capacity (mlpa) i
- 0.115
-
- Condenser Type i
- Shell and tube
-
- Fermentation Time i
- 55-72hrs
-
- Filling Strength i
- 63.5%
-
- Grist Weight (t) i
- 1
-
- Heat Source i
- Steam coils
-
- Malt Specification i
- Pot still malt, PSY 400 LPA/tonne
-
- Malt Supplier i
- Mutons, Bairds
-
- Mash Tun Type i
- Semi Lauter
-
- New-make Strength i
- 65-72%
-
- Single Malt Percentage i
- 100%
-
- Spirit Still Charge (l) i
- 3,600
-
- Spirit Still Shape i
- Pot still with bulge in neck
-
- Stills i
- 2 (1 wash, 1 spirit)
-
- Warehousing i
- Dunnage (on site at Henderson Park)
-
- Wash Still Charge (l) i
- 5,500
-
- Wash Still Shape i
- Pot still with bulge in neck
-
- Washback Charge (l) i
- 5,500
-
- Washback Size (l) i
- 9,000
-
- Washback Type i
- Stainless steel
-
- Washbacks i
- 3
-
- Water Source i
- The Wolf Burn
-
- Yeast Type i
- Anchor dry yeast
Owner
Current owner
- Aurora Brewing 2013 - present
Contact
- Address
-
Wolfburn Distillery
Henderson Park
Thurso
Caithness
KW14 7XW
United Kingdom - Phone
- +44 800 944759
- Visitor Opening Hours
Contact distillery for details
Map