3.5/5 8th November 2022 (modified from @drrhcmadden on Distiller)
Nose: drying woody notes are dominant, syrupy thick blackcurrant, big huffs and there is a plastic vanilla that isn’t particularly fun; I’m glad its hidden so well. Faintest banana. Maybe some really generic baking spice. To be honest this is somewhat dull.
Palate: Oh man that sucks the moisture off your tongue. Have you ever licked chalk or clay? Your tongue will stick to it like crazy. Once this stuff exits your mouth, your tongue and roof of mouth feel like they are being vacuumed into another dimension. Possibly the most astringent thing I’ve ever drunk. After that distraction I’m finding mocha with pleasant bitter-sweetness, toffee, nutmeg and a solid roasted oak heft. Blackcurrant and maybe a little raisiny fruit.
Finish: Medium-long. Led by pepper and oak tannins with a little vanilla toffee. Leads to more astringency though.
I hit this with a liberal splash of water. At 50% and how drying this palate is I figured the water was warranted. A good move. The nose doesn’t move much for me. But the palate relaxes, the desert air that removes all mention of moisture (and your soul) has chilled out and turned into a thickly creamy mouthfeel. If I didn’t know better I could be made to believe this is weird wooded chardonnay. Slightly nutty, the mocha is less prominent, banana has entered the chat and the dark fruits have combined into a single generic lifting sweetness. I’m liking this now. If I could churn this into butter I would liberally apply it to bread and likely be very happy. Finish has moved to a soft buttery toffee with less aggressive tannins.
This was my first outing with Hungarian Oak, and I didn’t know what to expect. The higher proof opening on the palate here did not work for me. The spirit and the wood did not play well in my book. But, tempered with a good bit of water things started to get along better. I have had a fair bit of French Oak of late and that is definitely the silkier and creamier brethren to the roasty weight that Hungarian wood throws in here. Very much a barrel driven whisky. The red wine flavours that Starward espouse as the principal profile that unites their offerings plays second fiddle here, maybe even third or fourth fiddle, the oak is just that big. More careful balance and Starward might have been onto a winner for me. Double gold at SFWSC, I now have no idea what that means. I give it an interesting and middle of the pack medal and a good effort sticker.
