Review #746 - Wolfburn Morven
Wolfburn, established in 2013, has now been operating for more than 12 years; in fact, they released a 12 year old product this year, one of the first of the new wave distilleries to do so. The brand says that they focus on quality for their whisky - these are presented at a strength of at least 46% ABV, and they don't employ chill filtering or added color when bottling.
This core range single malt called Morven is a lightly peated whisky that doesn't carry an age statement. It's aged primarily in ex-bourbon casks, though the distillery's website discloses that they also use quarter casks that previously aged an Islay whisky; they don't disclose that Islay distillery, but based on the widespread availability of its 'Quarter Cask' single malt, Laphroaig might be a good bet. Let's see how that lightly peated distillate combines with the potentially peaty influence of the Islay quarter casks.
Wolfburn Morven
Scotland/Highland - Single Malt
Price: USD 78 (2025)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 46% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon casks and ex-Islay quarter casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 4 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Peat up front - softer, but it grows toward a medium influence, accented by charcoal. Lighter fruits of lemon, apple, and pear combine with some spirity scents; it's both sweet and tart at times.
Palate: A medium thickness mouthfeel; flavors of vanilla, some peat, some lemon drop candies, interesting salt and mineral notes. The oak influence is quite soft; this develops a vegetal malt side and some lemon-lime soda, but the flavors are also a bit thin, borderline watery at times.
Finish: Mossy, vegetal, but oily and malty, too. White bread, lemons, vanilla, ash, and green apple contribute to a light complexion; fizzy peat lingers, but grows mellow. There's some nice sweetness from the fruit, but also some tart notes like the palate; it's a medium length finish.
Final Note: This peaty single malt from Wolfburn is fine, if a bit plain and mild. There's a decent amount of peat from the combination of distillate and Islay casks, and other than that, it's classic ex-bourbon malt flavors: malty grain, light fruit, a bit of vanilla. This is fine as an entry level whisky, but it doesn't carry as much depth as we would like for a higher-rated whisky.
Value is a little below average. A lot of the releases from newer distilleries are in this $65 to $90 price bracket; depending on how good the flavor in the bottle is, that can feel a bit expensive for a non-age-stated, non-cask-strength single malt.
Our Rating: 5.7 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.31
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Wolfburn reviews:
