Campbeltown North Star Face-off
4yo Series 005 & 8yo Series 021 | 57% & 55.1 ABV
My first Campbeltown blend dud?
I’ll be honest, I didn’t have much of a preamble for this article. I generally find Campbeltown blends to be enjoyable and North Star to be consistently good.
In searching for inspiration I asked myself Dougie’s mantra: What pulled you in and made you purchase that bottle over many others? Campbeltown = good, North Star = good, therefore Campbeltown + North Star = buy the bottles.
But following my latest North Star Chaos face off, which also featured a good-value auction purchase, it was suggested in the comments I speak to something that the whisky people might be interested in; what are the fees to buy at auction or even from retailers in the UK, and the hidden fees to ship the bottles around the world to your doorstep.
That led to an entire separate feature and something of, I hope, a handy whisky-buying auction guide that has been published in parallel with this review.
I’ll admit that I’m far from an expert on auction purchases, I’ve really only been purchasing for the past year. However, I seem to be able to find some good deals. However, in reality, that’s far from the truth.
Growing up, farm equipment auctions were quite the norm in my area. In many cases, the farmer’s children didn’t take up the family farming mantle and the old farmer would host an equipment sale to clear out their equipment before selling the land and farmstead or yardsite off to others. These equipment sales were always an auction and almost always featured significant volumes of junk. In many cases, with the impending lack of family inheritance, the farmer would not purchase new equipment but would continually use their old equipment well past its useful service life, held together with duct tape, baler twine, safety wire, and sadness of the impending demise of the family's agricultural heritage.
Many farmers would travel 500km or more to these sales, hoping to snag good deals on equipment but would often come away with more junk. Junk which was added to other piles of junk in their farmyard, dismantled for parts, forgotten about and left to rot after the allure of another auction presented itself. The lack of self control and mental rigour in purchasing at these auctions would often drain the wavering finances of these small farms, hastening their demise. It was a useful lesson to learn when I was a kid; knowing your personal limits, and just as importantly, your tendencies. This has helped me immensely in many facets of my life, including whisky auctions.
Review 1/2
North Star Campbeltown Blended Malt 4 yo, Series 005, 726 bottles, vatting of two refill bourbon barrels, 57% ABV
£40 at auction (plus fees!) £74 landed (CAD$125)
The eagle-eyed will note the £40 hammer price and the corresponding landed price of this North Star doesn’t line up with the cheat sheet I shared in the feature article. That’s for one simple thing: currency conversion between CAD and the British pound has changed since I purchased it, with my Canadian dollar weakening compared to the rate I used in the example table.
This demonstrates the usefulness of setting up an Excel/Sheets calculator as subtle shifts in inputs can multiply out several different ways, such as its impact on purchase price, commission, fees, and shipping price, perhaps making a certain bottle less attractive than it may have appeared with old information.
So, back to Campbeltown and North Star. Let’s focus on these two landed at auction and see if my own advice yielded a decent whisky experience.
Nose
First drams: Rich and inviting with a bit of a prickle. Vanilla, lemon oils, white chocolate scones with the edges golden brown and delicious.
Month of air: Thin, acetic, and quite apple-like. The prickle has noticeably declined with time. Stale store-bought cinnamon buns, red apple, some malty undertones, with vanilla building in intensity the longer this sits in the glass. Where did the lovely citrus go?
Palate
First drams: Gingersnap cookies thinly drizzled with vanilla icing. Candied ginger and lemon peel. The palate is oily and tenacious. The finish is medium-long and enjoyably sweet and lemon sour.
Month of air: There’s a nice malty biscuit undertone. Gingersnap cookies and vanilla icing. The lemon notes are reduced compared to my initial pours. The ginger returns on the trailing end as a raw ginger bite and tingle, now accompanied with Granny Smith apple. The finish is shorter and less enjoyable, not bad but not as good as it was.
After my first handful of drams, I’d scribbled down: I need to find more of this, it’s such a quality drinker despite the age.
After letting this one sit for a month, I’m finding that my previous statement is no longer accurate. The flavourful pops and frazzles that excited me had disappeared, along with a significant detraction in finish length and quality. This has perhaps been the bottle that has most demonstrated the potential negative effects of open bottles and air time.
Typically bottles stay the same or get better with time with a rare few declining in experience. And this is one of those. What was a delectably oily, sweet, and lemony fresh expressive flavour bomb has declined to a mere husk of its former self. I’ve had my share of young Campbeltown blends, such as this trio, including two 6 year olds that were much higher quality than this. Perhaps it was the casks or just the young age of this North Star release but I’m not enjoying this as much the deeper I get into the bottle. It’s my first dud or letdown from Campbeltown but objectively it’s still an average malt and deserves the score.
Score: 5/10
Review 2/2
North Star Campbeltown Blended Malt 8yo, Series 021, 434 bottles, vatting of four port octaves and four oloroso sherry octaves, 55.1% ABV
£40 at auction (plus fees!) £74 landed (CAD$125)
Nose
Refined, sweet, and not prickly in any way. Chocolate-coated cherries, roasted almonds, pecan pie. Vanilla pods and a light touch of golden/refined maple syrup.
With a dash of water, the sugary sweetness is amped up with Demerara sugar and treacle, with the cherry notes dropping away.
Palate
Just like the colour might suggest, a massive rush of cask flavours up front. Dried cherries, dark chocolate and nut mix from the bulk bins. Dried cranberries give a little tartness. Fudge and cinnamon, not unlike a hot chocolate dusted with cinnamon from a fancy cafe. There’s a mild and sweet tobacco-like note appearing at the trailing end of the experience. It is not prickly but rather mouth tingling from the ABV. The palate is just as oily and tenacious as the 4 yo (when first cracked). It must be that delectable Campbeltown spirit eh?
With a dash of water there’s more cinnamon coming to the forefront, with an increase in bitterness I can best describe as charred wood. Personally, I’ll be enjoying this one at full power.
I’m giving this a 6/10 based on my own opinion and preferences of course. The cask influence is massive and walks the very fine tightrope of almost overpowering that blended Campbeltown malt. However if you’re more of a fan of the heavy-handed cask impacts then this is right up your alley and you might just consider this a 7/10 whisky. The casks didn’t have any off notes and were married together well during bottling, it's just not my preference.
While I may not prefer the massive cask hit here, it is a rare opportunity to taste some unicorn tears.
Score: 6/10
The Dregs
As you’ve read, I found the 4yo youngin’ to have changed while the bottle level has dropped, while the 8yo came across just as expected given the octave casks and the colour, a heavy-handed flavour berserker. While it’s not my cup of tea, it will be a favourite of my friends who prefer the dense and impactful flavours. So if you’re one of those, get the Series 021 8 year old. You won’t be disappointed.
As for purchasing from auctions: know your limits. It can be addictive so self-control and some sort of knowledge of the final price, like I’ve outlined in the parallel feature, might help you, your finances, and this hobby stay healthy and balanced.
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. BB