Wolfburn The Kylver Series No 9

The Kylver Stone is an ancient tombstone from the 5th Century that was found on the island of Gotland – south of Sweden in the Baltic Sea – and is engraved with ancient Germanic runes. You can find the rune signs on the labels of this series from Wolfburn, whose 9th expression is currently in my glass, thanks to whisky lover Nikie who gave me a very generous sample. It is a vatting of three barrels: dark rum & bourbon barrels. This one is called Hagalaz, which incidentally is the 9th rune of the old futhark. It means as much as hail or hailstone.

The nose is a delicious panoply of coffee, chocolate and candied sugar, supplemented with a whole range of overripe fruit. Just think of banana, cherries, mango and plums. Nice and sweet, as you would expect from a first fill Caribbean rum barrel.

Great body. Nicely syrupy, even. Coffee returns, supplemented with mocha and cherry juice. Then warm rhubarb compote and plums. Christmas cake with pieces of candied fruit. Raisins galore. This is a liquid dessert that requires absolutely no water.

The finish is long, creamy and soft on vanilla and cinnamon with some woodsmoke on the deathbed.

My 20th Wolfburn and what a whopper! Now, 250 EUR for a 7-year-old whisky is of course quite a lot. But tasty? That it certainly is.