North Star Spirits Springbank (Hazelburn) 1998 (22 year old) 46%
1st Fill Sherry Hogshead
Dist: May 1998 Btl: Oct 2020/ Tasted: Nov 2020
A very herbal and nutty nose to begin with. It reminds me of Amontillado sherry. Moves into perfumed apricot, camomile, sweet peach, pear, barley and then the sherry notes come back. The spirit is almost confected in character but the cask is offsetting that sweetness to a certain degree. Late coffee, sultana and dried citrus peel.
The palate opens, like the nose with the very nutty sherry, followed by soft creamy, buttery American oak vanillins (A sherry seasoned American Hoggy?) Good grief it’s like an Amontillado sherry milkshake! Less confected with barley, apricot, apple, peach and a touch of salt. Very long and earthy with barley, green nuts, grilled almond and salt. In fact the after-taste is extremely salty. In conclusion it’s really entertaining, but can I get customers to part with £446 for it?
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 