North British 21 Year Old 1995 North Star Spirits

North Star Spirits is fast becoming one of my favorite independent bottlers. So far, all the stuff I have tried from them has been top notch. In May 2017 they released a single grain from the Lowland distillery North British – just outside Edinburgh – that matured for 21 long years. North British has no official bottlings to speak of, because the production is destined for the blending industry. Nicely sweet on vanilla and a truckload of butterscotch with lots of milk chocolate. Hints of young banana, some cinnamon and some earthy notes. A mild floral hint as well. And a hint of varnish, but not as prominent as grain can sometimes display. This is very nice.

It is wonderfully creamy on the palate and immediately sweet from vanilla and banana. Again something earthy, which I quite like even though I cannot quite identify it. Spicy warm too. Midpalate I even get some freshly ground coffee. Slowly but surely – from the third sip on – some tropical fruit emerges.

In the long finish, I am happily surprised with even more tropical fruit – sultanas in the lead – but also something that reminds me of peanut butter. How crazy is that? But pleasant.

Lovely grain, really. Glad this did not disappear into J&B or Johnnie Walker.

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