Tastes

North Star Series 15 and 16 tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 9 March 2022. Whisky #6 Nose: Like nosing a glass of oloroso sherry in an antique shop. Antique wax-polished furniture, linseed oil, carnauba wax, cedar cigar boxes, treacle, burnt sugar, cacao nibs. Some dark fruity notes in the background but they are overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the cask influence, as if they are hidden in old camphorwood chests. Water makes the nose less intense but does not change the profile. Palate: A full, sweet, sherry and oak arrival, very similar to the nose. Spices in the development (cinnamon, allspice, tannin), dried figs, dates, liquorice root extract, a whiff of camphor. Water makes it very easy to quaff but it tends to become a little syrupy as well with sweet sherry notes floating to the top. The texture is unctuous. Finish: Long. Sweet and oaky with sherry notes that linger but oak is the final memory. I’m sure the notes above would describe a compelling dram for many enthusiasts but you have to really love intense sherry-butt maturation because the distillates are well cloaked in this one. If I were mean I could say it’s just a sherry bomb, but that would be an exaggeration and an unfair dismissal of its good qualities. It has complexity, depth and is like a big cosy blanket of rich aromas and flavours. At AUD$130 a bottle this is good value. It's a NAS and there is youthful whisky apparent, but I have the impression there is some serious whisky "of age" in the blend as well. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

North Star Series 15 and 16 tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 9 March 2022. Whisky #5 Nose: Initially the nose is gently floral and fruity with pear and apple aromas. Over time soft oak is noticed together with a chalky/mineral quality that I suspect is lactic in origin. A soft briny breeze wafts across fields of ripe grain. With the addition of water, the floral notes develop further – freesias growing near a shingle beach. Palate: The arrival is salt-sweet and fruity like salted-caramel chocolate-covered preserved fruit. The development quickly ushers in an uplifting minty taste – peppermint and mild spearmint – coupled with creamy vanilla. It’s like a vanilla slice with subtle mint icing. The texture is creamy but not heavy. Finish: Medium. Milk chocolate, caramel sauce, a hint of sour cherry and a fresh lingering minty note. An interesting malt that is refreshingly light and elegant for all its 26 years. Up until the early 2000s Tobermory new-make was inconsistent, frequently feinty and often lactic (“baby-sick” was the ubiquitous comment). However it has improved a lot over the last two decades and recently the distillery has been releasing some very fine age statements. Expressions like this that date back to last century can be hard to predict and it all comes down to the casking. Thankfully this one was gracefully aged in a quiet refill hogshead which allowed ample time for delicate extractive maturation and spared it the weight of sherry and oak spices that might otherwise have brought the distillate to its knees. A dash of water works very well, and at 51% the whisky can easily take a little dilution. Give it some time to rest after watering and the dram improves in every respect, however although it is without question a good whisky, for me it did not quite reach a level that I’d describe as “very good”. At AUD$350 a bottle the price is not unreasonable when compared against other whiskies aged in their mid-20s, so it is definitely value for money. However in terms of outright quality for money I think I would prefer to spend that $350 on something else. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

North Star Series 15 and 16 tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 9 March 2022. Whisky #4 Nose: Fusty and dank but not in an interesting “funky” manner, just dank like a badly ventilated cheap hotel room. Tannin, sweat, ethanol, gravel and fine dust. After a while it develops an aroma like a cotton shirt scorched by a hot iron. Palate: Sweet malty arrival with caramel. Treacle, raisins, dates and stewed apple show up as it develops. The mouth-feel is OK but not noteworthy. Finish: Short. Malty fudge and milk chocolate. After starting off with two average malts the tasting picked up with whisky number 3 (a most agreeable 14 year old Dailuaine) but then all that headway was lost in the trainwreck of this dram. The nose is dreadful but although the palate is better the two aspects of aroma and taste seem to be constantly at odds. Water does little to fix the nose while simultaneously spoiling the palate. It does start to improve a little after a long time when water is added but it never climbs as high as average. This was a special bottling commissioned by The Oak Barrel but I’m at a loss to understand why. It’s not a good whisky - simultaneously the worst North Star and the worst Bunnahabhain I can remember tasting, and it's way overpriced. I wouldn’t buy this if you gave me the money. "Inferior” : 68/100 (1.75 stars)

North Star Series 15 and 16 tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 9 March 2022. Whisky #3 Nose: Cherries, honey, waxed leather, golden syrup, dark chocolate. A hint of coconut and just enough oak to provide heft but not overtake the distillate. Palate: Rich, warm, comforting arrival. Spicy but gently sweet and with the alcohol heat and some baking spice well contained. Beeswax notes in the development with fresh-baked cherry Danish, apple strudel and a little orange conserve. The texture is waxy and slightly oily with good body. Finish: Medium. Mildly and sweetly spicy. Now we’re getting somewhere. After the first two somewhat pedestrian drams at the tasting this one finally made me pay attention, and it grabbed me from the first moments. The nose is luscious and sweet but avoids being cloying. An oloroso refill butt was perfect for this spirit whereas a PX cask would have been way over the top. It's well sherried and has good structure. Delightful neat, adding water had both positive and negative effects. On one hand it developed the nose, not by actually bringing anything new forward but by integrating the existing aromas very pleasantly. On the other hand the palate was softened but it did not need softening to start with. The abv is sufficient to take dilution well, but it seemed superfluous. A nice whisky at a fair price, and as it turned out my favourite expression of the night, besting a much older Tobermory and just edging out the very agreeable Supersonic Mach 2 (reviews of both to come). I ordered a bottle. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

North Star Series 15 and 16 tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 9 March 2022. Whisky #2 Nose: Malt, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, tumeric, pepper, currants. Palate: Creamy, gingery malt on the arrival. In the development I tasted butterscotch rolls, cinnamon scrolls, gingernut biscuits and walnut bread. It's a very biscuity whisky in character. The texture is OK, and certainly not thin. Finish: Medium. Malt extract, biscuit flavours and a trace of the spices from the palate. Not a bad whisky but it lacks something. It’s not complex but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it shallow either – it’s sort of a wading pool whisky. Perhaps it’s the youth or maybe it was a shy cask, but this is both oddly laid back for a Benrinnes (it's certainly not heavily sherried) but also spicy and it has that pleasant malted biscuit quality. The last North Star Benrinnes I had was a little older and finished in a PX cask, and it was more … well … more “fun” I guess. This whisky was like someone you meet at a party and talk to for 15 minutes but 5 minutes later you can’t recall their name or anything they said. It fails to engage. Water takes a while to make any difference but eventually it produces a little more sweetness, however I preferred this neat. It's OK value but I would not recommend it above any other whisky in the same price bracket, and in the final analysis it’s an above average dram, but only just. “Above Average” : 80/100 (2.75 stars)

North Star Spirits tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 9 March 2022. Whisky #1 Nose: Floral, fruity but shy when neat. A dash of water opens it a little but also elevates the prominence of alcohol on the nose and introduces a curious sweaty aroma. Palate: Spicy/sweet arrival but hot and tight when neat. There is a citric acidity to the palate and it intensifies with water. More spices in the development along with vanilla and raisins. The texture is lightly oily. Finish: Medium. Vegetal and a little sour with sweet spice as the final flavour. Not a particularly interesting or satisfying whisky. It has a limited profile (humdrum is probably the best descriptor) that does not inspire repeated nosing or sipping. I had half my tasting sample left at the end of the night and no inclination to finish it. There is little indication that this spent 14 years in an oloroso hoggie, and it’s also one of those drams that becomes hotter and more “spiky” with the addition of water, until you get to the point where it suddenly drowns. I didn’t think it was worth the asking price and I expect to see bottles of this on the shelves for a while to come. It’s not North Star’s finest hour. “Average” : 78/100 (2.75 stars)

Nose: Freshly sawn planks, a little white pepper, vanilla, bright aromatic spices (peppermint, anise, clove, cinnamon) and some citrus. Palate: Slightly dusty, semi-sweet arrival. Pears, pineapple, vanilla but there is minimal development. The texture is curiously thin and there is no depth to the palate. Finish: Medium but abrupt. It lingers for a moment then suddenly runs out of energy and vanishes into a very mild salted lemon aftertaste. Nothing to write home about. This has a simple profile with the usual rye aromas and flavours but it leans a little more than usual towards a citrus personality. The main problem is how thin and shallow this spirit is. There is no mouth-feel at all when it is neat and the palate dissolves quickly into featureless brine. Surprisingly, water improves it. I thought it would drown easily but a small dash brought out softness, some much-need texture and more rounded aromas, with a little red berry showing up. It does not seem tight when neat, just weak, but it blooms with dilution. It’s clean, well-made and very easy to drink but this sort of whisky does nothing for me and at the shocking local price of AUD$125 a bottle I would not recommend it. “Adequate” : 73/100 (2.25 stars)

Nose: Crisp fresh apples, oak shavings, toasted walnuts, espresso and yeasty bread. There is a little too much alcohol presence on the neat nose for my preference but a dash of water fixes this and allows softer caramel and citrine aromas to appear. Palate: Spicy arrival – hot cinnamon, freshly grated root ginger, lemongrass and black pepper. There is an undercurrent of honey but it’s the flavor without the sweetness. Malt and treacle in the development, which takes a while to form after the forceful arrival. Kirsch and green tea show up a little later. The texture is not noteworthy and the overall impression is of tightness. When watered the palate becomes demure and considerably more relaxed. Finish: Medium/long. The heat and spicy notes slowly fade into a slightly brackish, sour finish with flavours reminiscent of sour-mash wort. That’s the dry sherry showing up in spades. With water the finish gains chocolate notes. A good whisky that is a little too tightly wrapped when neat, even though the abv is only just over 52%. I thought this was significantly improved by a dash of water, which rendered it much more expressive and less ernest. Overall I enjoyed it but I would not buy a whole bottle. Allowing it to stand for a while once watered worked further magic with both complexity and integration forming. Don’t hurry this one, and for pity’s sake – add water! The word manzanilla in the title should be your guide here – if you like dry sherry you’ll take to this straight away because the finish is prominent. If you prefer PX and dislike the astringency of dry sherry you will never become friends with this dram. Tasted from a distillery-bottled 50ml miniature “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)