Taking a jump forward five years as I move today to another Starward anniversary malt, this time the Vitalis 15th Anniversary bottling. This limited run is a blend of six of their whiskies. There are parcels selected from Tawny (Aussie Port), Bourbon, Apera (first and second fill), and rum barrels. The liquids were aged for anything from four to ten years before being assembled into Vitalis. Apparently though, the star of the show here should be the red win barrels Starward want to be known for. N: Slightly oily with a restrained dark toffee presence. A little mustiness and tiny tannic malt presence, raisins, cocoa powder, cedar chips and maybe tobacco. P: Big, bold, and thick. Initially this hit me with a quite aggressive wave but a more tentative approach is packed with bitter cocoa, a supermarket bakery isles worth of dried fruits, dark chocolate, cinnamon, clove, and black pepper. A touch of espresso, toasty oak, warm malt, and treacle toffee. F: Long. Warming with a gentle balance of oak and red fruits moving towards a oily residual presence. Is that toasted coconut too? Nose not as rich and oozy as its younger 10th anniversary sibling, but dark and powerful in its own right, albeit the mix this time comes across more mature but also a little more harsh for it. The palate is the same story, big, bold, and a truck load of flavour and character, but not as sumptuous as the 10th anniversary. Again, this palate is decadent in a much more robust way. The presence of the Tawny is most definitely felt. The malt and pepper give me flashbacks to the Projects Bourbon Cask, and the dried fruits and chocolaty notes are clearly coming from the Apera and red wine. The vast improvement in this 15th Anniversary comes in the finish, it is much more balanced to the rest of the experience and leaves a satisfying impression. Is this better overall than the 10th anniversary, objectively I think yes. There is no hiding imperfection behind a wall of decadence, this is punchy, developed, and is taking no prisoners; it wont be for everyone, but it is better than the 10th. The more important question though is did I enjoy it more than the 10th? No, not really, they are in different categories and each has their place. A worthy entry from Starward and worth trying I’d say. Distiller whisky taste #216 [Pictured here with a brace of little diamonds from somewhere in the USA. It might be considered that peat > lignite > bituminous coal > anthracite, would mean the next step in the pressure and time continuum is diamonds, but no. Thats a myth. Coal doesn’t form diamonds. But I’ve used my graphite schist (the actual next step) on my Lindores Abbey series, and this pressure and time analogy had to go somewhere. These diamonds are anywhere between 0.9 and 3.5 billion years old, formed at 150-250 km deep in the Earths mantle. Starward here have clearly started producing some real gems themselves after taking time and refining their craft]. Starward running scores: Fortis: 3.25/5 10th Anniversary: 4.25/5 Vitalis 15th Anniversary: 4.5/5 Whisky Club Exclusive, Maple Cask: 2/5 Whisky Club Exclusive, Cognac Cask: 3.5/5 Projects, Octave Barrels: 3.75/5 Projects, Dolce: 2.25/5 Projects, Bourbon Cask: 3.5/5 Projects, Tawny #2: 3.5/5 Projects, UnExpeated: 3.75/5 Projects, Peated: 2.75/5 Small Batch, Hungarian Oak: 3/5 Small Batch, Sticky Toffee Apple: 3.25/5 Small Batch, Chardonnay: 4/5