[Review] Sirius - 31 years old (North Star Spirits) 43.1%


One dram left in the bottle and I’ve finally managed to write up notes for this one!

Bottled by North Star, this 31 years old blended malt is said to potentially contain quite a bit of Clynelish… It was very affordable (I paid around £80 on offer in 2020) and I am very glad I have a back up bottle!


Distillery: Blended Malt

Bottler: North Star Spirits

Age: 31 years old

Distilled: 1988

Bottled: 2019

Cask: First fill Bourbon barrels

Abv: 43.1%

Unchillfiltered: Yes

Natural Colour: Yes

Nb of bottles: 3582

Price: £110

Extra: Part of the Cask Series 009


My tasting notes:

Nose: Waxy, citrus, lemon, honey, fruity, some oak, wood varnish, hints of orange, vanilla, a little bitterness, some pine notes, barley sugar, fresh barley, crème caramel, sponge cake, tangerine, cardamon. Loving it!


Palate: Rich & chewy, honey, chocolate, citrus (grapefruit, bitter orange), oak spice , peach, milk, orange blossom, almond, orgeat syrup, creamy, hints of dried oak, stewed peach & apricot, cardamon again. This is a tasty dram!


Finish: Cedar, a little spice, wax, nutty, crème brûlée, desiccated coconut, orange peel, oak, quite drying.


With water: The nose becomes sweeter with sugarcoated almonds and more candied peels. The palate gains in wax (candle wax) and the finish in oak spice. Not sure it actually needs water.


What a delicious blended malt from North Star, 31 years in a first fill barrel but it still is very fresh and fruity and even if there is some oak in the mix, it is definitely not overpowering the overall experience!

Fantastic stuff!


Slàinte all!


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