Mainland Britain’s most northerly whisky maker is exporting to 27 countries just two years after it started selling its products, the firm has said.
Single malts from Wolfburn Distillery, in Thurso, have also become the target of collectors around the world, with one fetching more than £700 at a recent auction in the US.
Almost 300,000 bulk gallons of spirit have been laid down since the Caithness distillery’s first cask was filled five years ago this week and, as he toasted the anniversary, manager Shane Fraser described the reaction to its whiskies as “unbelievable.”
Wolfburn, owned by a consortium of UK and overseas private investors trading as Aurora Brewing, was opened close to the site of a much larger distillery which was built in 1821 and operated until 1877. It overtook Old Pulteney, in Wick, as the most northerly whisky producer on the UK mainland.
Like its predecessor, the current operation, in Thurso Business Park, draws water from the nearby Wolf Burn.
Plans for the distillery were lodged in 2011, with construction starting in 2012 and production getting under way the following year.
“It continues to be an amazing adventure,” Mr Fraser said.
“For the first three years or so we only produced spirit and laid down casks. Then two years ago we installed our bottling plant and began selling whisky for the first time.
“The reaction has been unbelievable – our whisky is now distributed in 27 countries all around the world, it’s won multiple gold medal awards and sales are miles higher than we anticipated. The five years since filling the first cask have simply flown past.”
The distillery’s Northland expression is the only new single malt whisky to have won gold medals in four consecutive international competitions and the successive Aurora and Morven expressions have also received critical acclaim.
