Vega 23 Year Old 1993 Blended Malt

North Star Spirits – the company run by Iain Croucher – has just launched its second batch. Again it contains some wonderful malt and grain whiskies, but also a Montilla Fortified Wine (which I absolutely adored) and a Tennessee Whiskey. But what me attracted the most was their new blended malt that was dubbed Vega. It was distilled in October 1993 and bottled in May 2017, composed of only Speyside malts that matured on American oak and sherry casks. The result left me flabbergasted. Vega, by the way, is the 5th brightest star in the sky – in the constellation Lyra – some 25 light years away from earth, twice the size and twice as hot as our own sun. That’s good to know…

Wonderful nose on caramel, hazelnuts, plums, raisins, apricots and fresh orange juice. In the background a hint of espresso and some chewing tobacco. If you leave it to breath, it becomes a stew of fruit. Hint of mocha appears. I love it.

It starts creamy and very spicy. Powerhouse on cloves, liquorice and a hint of cinnamon. Again loads of citrusy notes (mandarin!) upholstered with caramel and plums, but also chocolate. All about fruit, not a trace of oak (bar the spices, obviously). Delicious.

Lovely long finish in which all the fruits rear their lovely heads again – mandarin in the lead – before it fades gently on a slight bitter note.

Very nice and daring release by North Star Spirits. Hard to find in our neck of the woods, but online it can still be purchased for some 65 EUR, which is a steal!