Review by: Raygun

North Star Spirits is a relatively new IB, starting in 2016. Founded by the former cask manager of AD Rattray. They’ve quickly become a solid bottler in my experience, and also tend to be reasonably priced. Dailuaine is pretty much a blending malt from Diageo, with IBs fairly common. Dailuaine was using stainless steel condensers for a while, though I’m not sure if this comes from that period. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes.

---

Distillery: Dailuaine  

Bottler: North Star Spirits     

Region/style: Speyside single malt Scotch

ABV: 52.5%. Cask strength.  

Age: 14 years. Distilled in March 2007, bottled in May 2021. 

Cask type: Refill sherry butt, 659 bottles.

Color: 1.0 deep copper. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

---

Nose: Starts promisingly with stewed plums, blackberries, and raisins. A sprinkle of thyme. Brown sugar and cocoa powder.       

Palate: Good texture. Some hot chocolate joins in with the fruit. Getting some cinnamon and nutmeg as well. And black pepper. Reminding me of chai. If that also had raisins, dates, and plums tossed in. Has some Craigellachie-like meatiness.  

Finish: Nice blend of tart and sweet, with good weight. Hot chocolate, plums, blackberries, and chai spices. In short, very similar to the palate. 

Bonus wife note: “It’s not that special.”

---

Conclusion: Nothing too surprising here. Which is not a problem. Very pleasant and drinkable, with not an off note to be found. Nor is it dull. I can’t entirely disagree with my wife; not special per se. But very good. I have no complaints. Nice sherry influence without it overtaking everything. Well put together from start to finish. North Star has not disappointed me yet. 

Buy a bottle? Right on that line. I might add one to an order to spread out shipping, but wouldn’t especially seek it out.

Score: 83

---

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)