North Star Spirits tasting night, Sydney, 18 July 2019. Whisky #4 Nose: Rich and dense, prunes soaked in sherry (oloroso, I'd say, but there might also be a PX cask at work), stewed fruit, fruit cake, hazelnuts, almonds, brown sugar, mocha coffee. Palate: Soft, rich, broad sherried arrival. A light oak spiciness appears in the development but the focus here is on dark fruitcake or Christmas pudding, honey, red berries, nutmeg and dark chocolate. The texture is excellently creamy. Finish: Long. The mellow fruitcake character tails off into a dry chocolate aftertaste with a tinge of chili. The nose is rich but quite sprightly and it has a bright sweet character overall. Water enhances this bright sweetness, develops more sherry, and brings out a little oak. The palate softens with time but the bittersweet note at the very end remains. I don't know what the components are in this vatting, but the palate has aspects that bring to mind any number of big, sherried Speyside malts (but perhaps not the very best or most complex). It's well balanced but arguably a bit two-dimensional (just enough to prevent me giving it more than 4 stars) - however it's certainly not just a one-note sherry bomb. This is the fourth edition of Vega and the profile is broadly the same as the prior editions. Unlike a blended malt such as Johnnie Walker Green Label or Compass Box Spice Tree, North Star Spirits' Vega is not blended in-house. Instead the company procures casks of aged, blended single malts which are then married to create each edition. Consequently the editions vary in age and detail as they depend on what the company could acquire each time, however I would not be surprised if the source has been constant. 800 bottles were produced in this edition, so I'd guess it's a marriage of 3 or 4 casks. Of the Vega editions so far I've thought the second to be the best, but this is still a very fine blended malt whisky at a fair price. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars)