Tastes

Nose: Red fruits, berries, raisins, orange peel, nuts (almonds?) and chocolate. Tobacco and salmiak aromas show up after a while, but they are subdued. Palate: The cask is evident right at the arrival with hefty oak flavours present. Tobacco, leather, rancio, Jamaican rum (!), molasses, gingerbread, apricot, clove, nutmeg. The texture is full but not oily. Finish: Medium/long. Spicy, sweet, dark fruits trailing off into soft tannins. An interesting whisky that I almost neglected to review. I came across this by chance last Christmas when we were in Bruges and a specialist spirits shop had it on display. I’d never heard of Belgian whisky before so naturally I dove into the shop and asked for a taste, which the owner was delighted to provide. Sadly, they had no water available (this is cask strength) and only little paper cups for tasting. Oh, dear lord … how plebian. Anyway, this was the inaugural release from the producers, following a few “in process” bottlings. It’s a well-textured, full-bodied malt that has more than just a little in common with some hot-climate whiskies I’ve tasted, such as Paul John and any number from Australia and Texas. How bizarre is that for a Belgian product. Maybe they are using those amazing Belgian beers for wash? More likely it is due to the rather frantic maturation in a combination of maple syrup, red wine, cognac and moscatel casks. Holy moley, it sounds like something Starward would try! Good stuff, I would have bought a bottle but regardless of its high quality and novelty interest it was overpriced for me. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Nose: (neat) Closed and tight, some woody cask aromas and malt but it's very restrained. There's a trace of honey and butter but they are masked by the ethanol. Over time a little more unfurls with lemon and grassy notes showing. Nose: (watered) Water brings out notes of fresh wood like newly-sawn planks, freshly mown hay, sunflower oil, lemon zest, pineapple and delicate honey, however it remains a very contained nose. The longer this sits to rest in the glass, the better. Palate: (neat) Sweet, fruity, heavy but again there is the feeling that it is locked up very tight. Some banana and coconut, and a little white pepper. Palate: (watered) It’s on the palate where water makes a real difference with the whole performance blooming and expanding immediately, however this remains a very fresh, crisp style of malt. Sweet citrus, coconut, honey, malt, tropical fruit, cereal, almond and cream. The mouth-feel is more full-bodied and it gains more heft as it rests after watering. Finish: (neat) Medium/Long. Sweet malty notes with lingering barley sugar sweetness. When watered the finish is not greatly changed, apart from becoming a little more dry with a hint of brine. Over time as it rests the finish becomes much longer with fresh, sweet citrus and orchard fruit in the aftertaste. Back before Arran had their great re-branding (around 2020 I think) they used to have an expression called The Bothy which was also quarter cask matured, however it was darker, more full-flavoured and richer than this expression. When the announcement was made to discontinue I managed to snag three bottles of the old Bothy Batch 2, and I’m glad to have them. Which is not to denigrate this whisky at all, on the contrary this is a very pleasant dram, both neat and when watered, and I enjoyed it most with dilution which I felt softened, released and amplified everything about it. That’s not surprising as I generally prefer my whisky under 50% abv, but here it was particularly so. I also noted with delight that this louches spectacularly when watered, just as the old Bothy expression used to. It's nice to see that Arran is still giving their spirits only the lightest of barrier filtration, and no chill-filtration. If adding water to this always wait for the “mist” to rise so you experience all the precipitated oils at their peak. If you don't see it, you have not used enough water - put more in. The whisky can take it and the louche is one of the delights of this expression. Tasted from a generous sample provided by @DrRHCMadden. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars) just 2 percentage points and a quarter star down from the old expression)

Nose: Red wine (sigh, it’s a Starward … again), ethanol, stewed mixed fruits, malt extract, golden syrup or molasses. Palate: What the🤔 it can't be 🤨arrrgh😖 how the 😶 I don't feel well🤕 help me 😢 oh lord 😟 errrrrrrrrrrgh 🤢pant … pant 🥴 wipes tears 😢 from eyes. Holy mother of mercy what was that. Excuse me while I go and call Herb on the porcelain telephone … 🤮 heeeeeeerrrrrb 🤮 heeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrb 🤮 Finish: I honestly didn’t pay much attention. It probably lasts far too long. This was a sample generously (?) gifted by @DrRHCMadden, who I shall forgive only because in the same box he gifted me a sample of the angelic nectar that is Port Charlotte 2007 CC:01. This … substance … was apparently never released by Starward (NO – REALLY??? – YOU AMAZE ME, HOLMES) who instead bottled it for The Whisky Club. I presume they forced them to take it as part of a contractual agreement. The nose is deceptively agreeable and betrays no hint of the eldritch horrors awaiting in the murky depths of the palate. As soon as it hit my mouth I nearly gagged. It was like a mixture of golden syrup, burnt wood, tannin and new-make whisky. It gets worse as it remains in the mouth, eventually subsiding to a cloying, mouth-coating emulsion of mixed dried fruit and bitter syrup. Maple syrup cask indeed - harrumph 🤬 “Dreadful” : 57/100 (0.25 stars, 3 upchucks 🤮🤮🤮)

Nose: An unctious nose with a hefty vinous quality to it (red wine casks being very obvious). Ethanol, malt, orchard fruit and a little vanilla. The nose screams “Starward!” to me as the red-wine cask contribution is always there on their whiskies, and it is not subtle. Palate: When neat it is momentarily sweet on the arrival with apples, pears and a little vanilla, but then huge tannins from the oak casks and red wine elbow their way to centre stage and push all the more sensitive actors into the wings. This thuggish crew then belts out a cacophonous drone of pepper, chili and ginger spice that all but drowns out any trace of nuance or style. This drinks far hotter than the 48% abv would suggest – it’s like an unruly cask strength malt. The texture is hefty and a little oily. It is much improved with dilution. Finish: Medium. Oaky and bittersweet, with wine and tannin fighting a duel until the last. This whisky was a limited release bottled by Starward for The Whisky Club in Australia. I’ve finally caught up with my tasting backlog and found this today in my “to-do” sample box. It was gifted to me a while back by @DrRHCMadden. It’s a hot dram and rather boisterous when neat so after the first two sips I had to add some water (about a teaspoon and a half to 25ml). This, and a rest in the glass, made a substantial improvement by taming the ethanol spike on the nose and allowing more subtle wood spice notes to emerge, together with some stewed fruits. On the palate it was also way more manageable with water, the arrival segueing into the later palate more gently. The initial orchard fruits last longer and the hot spices are significantly contained. I noted an apple cider note on both nose and palate once water had been added and the texture gained a creamy quality. Water is not just recommended for this, it should be mandatory Overall a pleasant whisky, if not in my favourite style. Like all the Starwards I’ve tasted to date it was interesting to try but I have no desire to own a bottle. Their spirit is clean and well made (the new-make is pleasant but not the best I’ve tasted) but there is something about this distillery that just does not click with me. I wish they would get over their love affair with ex-red-wine barrels and their obsession with finishing casks and instead just mature in ex-bourbon casks with a heavy char. I think it would work wonders for the spirit. “Above Average” : 82/100 (3.25 stars)