North Star Spirits: Chaos - Batch 3

Nose: Smells of sea-spray on rocks, kelp, and plastic flotsam on a gravelly shore. White pepper, citrus peel, raspberry, vanilla bean, and sooty smoke on a briny breeze. Palate: A sweet, creamy, and smoky fruit arrival (grilled orange segments on a warm flan). The peat smoke is initially earthy but gains a briny quality and a hint of iodine as the palate develops. Black cherry clafoutis, cranberry sauce, blackberry jam. The texture is buttery. Finish: Medium. Sweet, peaty, and briny. A fine whisky, certainly sweeter than official bottlings of Caol Ila, but it faces stiff competition despite its interesting qualities. However, it rivals many of the excellent independent bottlings from this distillery. The sweetness and jammy notes come from the ruby port octaves in the vatting, and there's sweet vanilla from the bourbon wood as well. It's a skillfully crafted and nuanced combination. The whisky is good neat and very good with water. With dilution, I'd almost give it an extra half-point, bringing it up to excellent. Dilution doesn't detract but adds integration and smoothness. At the reasonable asking price, I consider it good value for money. 'Very Good': 85/100 (4 stars)

Pleasant, clean, and smoky.

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