A little something different

This one is lightly peated. Purchased last year at Whisky Live, drank in commemoration of me missing this year's. It was bought for a pretty penny at just shy of $200 after discount, but the prices have since dropped.

This was bottled for LMdW, on the occasion of their 60th anniversary. It is a little something different, because it was the first bits of sherried Wolfburn that the market would be seeing. This was, I believe, the second or third bottling of Wolfburn, and all prior releases were pure bourbon casks. Of course, the Aurora has since been released, but this still has some collector value.

Wolfburn A Little Something Different (abv 50%)

Colour - dehydrated man's piss.

Nose - Peaches and minerals. Limoncello. Slightly metallic, like iron/steel in air-conditioning. Some crushed herbs - mint and parsley. Yeasty baked bread - like sourdough.

Palate - This starts sour, with lemon, and grapefruit. A huge wave of sweetness comes next - manuka honey, I think, though it recedes to leave a light bitterness. Fairly nutty, though I wasn't quite able to place the exact nut. A little rubber and leather. Prunes. Pepper and nutmeg. Pretty well-structured, with clear transitions between flavours.

Finish - Light smoke and peat. Black pepper and coriander. Almonds. A short, sweet malt sugar note. Minty too, but bitterness stays with you. Fairly long finish that dries your mouth.

Overall - As a first glimpse of what sherried Wolfburn could look like, this was not bad. I found the bitter note a little off-putting after a while. And, while well-structured, the sweetness didn't always come across coherently, yet isn't as dramatic as Talisker that leaves you breathless. Compared to the usual Wolfburn, what's different? The sherry inputs some notes of prunes and spices, and maybe added that rubbery touch.

On the whole, good, but I think it's still lacking a little something to be great.