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)