Wolfburn 10 y.o. No. 416 Small Batch Release - 1st Fill Ruby Port Pipes

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 46% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Full maturation in first-fill Ruby Port pipes makes Release 416 the first age-stated bottling in the Wolfburn Small Batch Series. Wolfburn sourced the casks from Portugal’s Douro Valley in 2016 and filled them with its own spirit. After ten years, the whisky was released in April 2026 at 46%; this one-off edition comprises 3,900 bottles.

The number 416 identifies the maturation location in Wolfburn’s coastal warehouses in Thurso: Warehouse 4, Stow 16. A Port pipe is a large Spanish oak cask that previously held Port wine. First-fill means that Release 416 was the first whisky matured in these casks.

Maturation in Port pipes shapes the whisky with dark and dried fruit alongside sweet notes of caramel and vanilla, contrasted by sea salt and gentle oak smoke. It is bottled at natural colour and without chill filtration.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose opens with warm Ruby Port aromas and a delicate note of sea salt. Raisins, dark cherries and sultanas then emerge.
• Palate: Rich caramel and soft vanilla appear first. They are followed by a deep Port-wine character, dates and figs, accompanied by gentle oak smoke.
• Finish: The finish is long and warming, with Port wine, caramel and dried fruit lingering.

Distillery/Bottler:

The original Wolfburn Distillery was founded by William Smith on the outskirts of Thurso in 1821 and named after the Wolf Burn watercourse. The present distillery was built in 2012, a short distance downstream from the old foundations; on 25 January 2013, new make flowed there again after 157 years.

Production is carried out without automation, with every stage from milling to bottling taking place at the Thurso site. Wolfburn uses soft Caithness water, long fermentation and gentle distillation in copper stills. Release 416 was also distilled, matured and bottled there.

Facts: