Sirius 31 year 1988 (North Star Spirits)

North Star Spirits tasting event, Sydney, February 21, 2020, Whisky #3 Nose: Dense, cohesive, integrated sherry and leather with a waxy, citrus zest note - orange, mandarin, and red grapefruit. Old libraries and sports-car leather upholstery. Beeswax candles and a hint of sandalwood shavings. Coconut oil, vanilla and a pinch of cloves spice also shows through. Monumental. Palate: A complete bazaar of mellow baking spices simmered in sherry and citrus syrup. Dark fruits but not overly sweet - the fruity flavours are mellowed and suave. The texture is rich and creamy. An excellent palate. Finish: Long. Extended sherry/sweet malt/citrus and leather flavours fade slowly into the aftertaste. Sumptuous and magnificent with the type of integration that only comes to whisky with age. The profile is an impenetrable wall to start with and this expression demands extensive time before you can begin to explore it properly. We tasted it about 45 minutes into the evening when it had been resting for an hour and it was still tight. Towards the end of the event when it had been opened for almost two hours it had evolved astonishingly, and was still opening. You could nurse a dram of this all night. North Star have released several expressions of blended malt under the name "Vega" but these have all originated from the Speyside area. This new "Sirius" line is exclusively a blending of old highland whiskies. There was general agreement at the tasting that this almost certainly contains Clynelish, and a liberal dose at that. The event co-ordinator suggested that it might be a teaspooned Clynelish but I'm not so sure. I think there is a percentage of something else at work, but I couldn't guess what. Really excellent whisky, and if it is in fact virtually a 31 year old Clynelish exclusively matured in first fill bourbon then even at the asking price of AUS$250 it represents phenomenal value. Highly recommended, if you can find it - 3,582 bottles world wide. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)