North Star Inchfad 14yo
Cask Series 016, 2021 | 49% ABV
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
Liquid autumn
Whisky Just Got Weird
For a drink that may anchor one of its marketing campaigns on tasting like ash and band-aids, there are still bottles with tasting notes that surprise me.
Do people even read the tasting notes for whisky bottles anymore? I know this is semi-ironic given this is a whisky review, with its own elaborated and quite colourful tasting notes, but we are independent and for the people!
When it’s a whisky trying to market itself however, how much can you trust is objective vs marketing slosh? As a student of language in my day job and purveyor of foods in my personal life, I am curious to see what Shakespearean evocations of the salty Islay coast or flourishing mainland glens adorn the bottle. Quite often they can be embellishing, because sure, what advertising is not? But they can also range from being a vaguely appetising preview for the whisky, or a completely deluded fever dream for something quite boring and subpar.
The more time you spend with whisky the more predictable they become as well. Most Islay malts feature some permutation of sea salt, smoke, bonfires, smoked fish, seaweed, and iodine. Non-peated mainland malts are a menagerie of biscuits, cakes, fruits, vanilla, and honey. Sherry monsters call on our Christmas delights, baking spices, pudding, dried fruits and nuts. We associate these tasting notes to distilleries, whisky region, cask type, or combinations of the three as we taste our way through the whisky carousel. Over time the notes become less meaningful and crucial however, we have a framework or pattern well downloaded into our olfactory hard drive for what a young Laphroaig might be like or what a well aged Glendronach may produce.
It’s a good thing that there is just so very much whisky out in the world, with new distilleries popping up constantly, like acne in a teenage fry cook. So every now and then, even for well seasoned whisky masters, there is sure to be something that makes the brow curl upwards.
Cut to just short of a year ago, ole Calder had made an exciting job shift and wanted to celebrate, as he always does, by being a bit frisky in his wallet for some whisky. Scrolling through getting another young Islay peat monster or perhaps a teenage Tobermory……..until he saw this. The absolutely bonkers tasting notes described for the bottle.
“Nose: hot apple cider, smoky ginger green tea and marshmallows”
Is ‘hot’ apple cider even a thing? And a smoky ginger green tea? Let's throw in some marshmallows as well! I know we can be a bit daft with tasting notes on review sites too but even after nearly a decade of dramming this had completely caught me off guard. I probably would have viewed this more cynically if it was bottled by someone where they usually do go off the track a bit with tasting notes (cough cough SMWS), but North Star are usually pretty straight shooters when it comes to the fluff. So if they had tasting notes like this then surely the whisky would have to be pretty bloody interesting.
“Palate: allspice in black coffee, charred wood”
As a hound for coffee, spices, and BBQ, even the tasting notes grabbed me. I think this was more of what I would expect in a peated mainlander but even the notes for the finish were intriguing.
“Finish: Long - damp leaves, sweet ash smoke and burnt porridge”
Being completely unfamiliar with Inchfad at the time, I was also curious about it being tagged as a heavily peated whisky. It wasn’t from Islay, Campbeltown, or the Islands. Since then I have explored a little more of mainland peat, but it’s still a somewhat unfamiliar category for me. Historically there would probably be more mainland peated whisky than peated whisky from anywhere else in Scotland (I assume?), as just about everything was peated to some level back in the day. There’s something rather quaintly exciting about exploring this style, like a glimpse into times of whisky past. I have an idea of the various types of Islay peat, and am familiar with the likes of the Campbeltown funk and the sweet peat of Ledaig. My expectations for mainland peat however were still emerging, most advertising tends to describe it as less intense and a more subtle, earthy, complex type of smoke.
Added to all the curiosity above was also my lack of admission into the amusement park that is the Loch Lomond party of malts. Loch Lomond takes variety to a new level, past even Bruichladdich or Springbank’s stable of expressions. Differentiating itself through the type of still (pot still vs column still), the type of neck for the still (swan neck vs straight neck) and through levels of peating and blending of different malt. The flagship Loch Lomond whisky is unpeated and a mixture of malt whisky produced from their swan neck and straight neck pot stills.
Loch Lomond Single Grain is produced by their column still but is produced with 100% malted barley. Inchmurrin is 100% unpeated and features spirit collected from their straight neck still. Inchmoan is heavily peated and features spirit distilled from their swan-neck and straight-neck stills (still keepin up readers?). Now this isn’t even the end of it, there is Croftengea, Rhosdhu (Old and New) and Craiglodge and so on. All encompassing different combinations and patterns of still use and blends of peated vs unpeated malt. Today we’ll be drinking Inchfad, in classic Calder style it’s one of the more niche styles produced by Loch Lomond, being an expression not bottled by the distillery themselves, but instead seen through independent bottlers.
Dallas helpfully covers some of the styles produced from Loch Lomond distillery in his SMWS article here, including the Inchfad style (SMWS 135).
“Swan neck pot still, 73-68% spirit cut. Can be distilled from unpeated malt (Inchfad spirit style), 25ppm medium peated malt (Inchfad MP spirit style) or 50ppm heavy peated malt (Inchfad HP spirit style).”
I had always wanted to venture into Captain Haddock’s dram of choice, but I must admit the countless Inches and busy bottle designs had put me off so far. Inchfad is distilled using the traditional swan neck pot still, so distillation-wise it is one of the more “single malt scotch whisky” style expressions within the Loch Lomond tribe. The peat levels however, can apparently vary, with Inchfad being found unpeated, peated at 25ppm, or being heavily peated at 50ppm. The North Star website nor the bottle doesn’t specify which this could be, however the tasting notes imply it is definitely peated. It is also my understanding that most independently bottled Inchfad is indeed heavily peated, so we’re by all obtainable information looking at the 50ppm variant with our North Star bottling. As a peathead this is exciting to me, I’m not expecting an Ardbeg or an Octomore but my curiosity is fired up at the prospect of heavily peated mainland whisky.
Review
North Star Inchfad 14yo, Cask Series 016, 2021 release, Oloroso barrique, April 2007 - July 2021, 49% ABV
£69.99 (AUD$120)
Nose
A rush of olfactory activations with zero burn or sharpness. At the start a sweet syrupy pommeau along with carnival fairy floss, enticing you to enter in and enjoy the ride. Just as you ask where the peat may be you’re greeted by warm campfire marshmallows, very lightly and slowly charring over autumn foliage. The peat builds just a little bit more into lightly toasted chestnuts, convincing you that it is well and truly Autumn in this dram, as it then transitions into a long steeped Darjeeling tea. The sweetness re-enters the fray at the tail end of the nose with macerated strawberries and bruised red apples.
Palate
The autumn notes continues as we begin tasting chesnut wagashi or perhaps kaju kathli, a firm balance of sweet and nutty. This is not at all like a heavily peated Islay, Campbeltown, or Islands smoke monster, the peat is definitely restrained, and if those other whiskies are a raging bonfire then this Inchfad is a slowly burning incense stick. Toasted woodchips on the palate with slightly burnt and damp coffee grounds from the inside of a stovetop Bialetti. There is an interesting sweet lactic note in the mid-palate, much like those milk bottle lollies, it’s just not sweet enough to be marshmallow. Towards the finish we get cloves drowned in cloudy apple juice, dripped along the forest floor in the monsoon.
The Dregs
They should have marketed this whisky as ‘liquid autumn’, I’ve never tasted something so apropos of a season. Even though I wouldn’t have gotten this if I didn’t see the bonkers tasting notes I would have loved to have tasted this blind, and without any linguistic impression of what it might be like. My notes do resemble what the bottle peddles, but it may also be down to the fact that this style was entirely new to me, and I wouldn’t be ashamed to say I may have been subconsciously influenced by them when tasting. That said I would challenge anyone to taste this and not think of anything remotely autumnal, it’s such a hard 1:1 reference. Now Calder, if ye spoke so colourfully about this and thoroughly enjoyed it, why have ye scored it a 6 as such?! Well, it would be good to remind readers that a Dramface 6 is good and well worth purchasing and pouring. I will clarify though that my initial impressions upon pour would have been a 7, however, time and air, both in the glass and in the bottle has not done this whisky any favours. I’ve found the mouthfeel thins a bit and it lacks the viscosity of a dram I would normally score a 7 or above. This may seem trivial but it’s an important parameter for me when drinking. The score is not what I want readers to take away with this review though, because I don’t at all regret the purchase and would be keen to try more Inchfad and other distillery expressions. A ticket for one adult please, yes for the whisky amusement park of Loch Lomond.
Score: 6/10 CD
Broddy’s Review
North Star Inchfad 14yo, Cask Series 016, 2021 release, Oloroso barrique, April 2007 - July 2021, 49% ABV
£69.99 (AUD$120)
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
Sweet & bitter, walking the tightrope
Nose
Wonderfully oxidized sherry whisky that is gentle on the nose, belying it’s nearly 50 %ABV. Small hint of clean mainland style peat forms the backbone, threading it’s tendrils through baking spices, red apple jelly tarts, and wet fall leaves on the ground. Date syrup, vanilla, and raw walnut can also be found.
I will say this: the emptied glass smells fantastic! I’ve come back to write this comment about an hour after finishing the last dribbles. The peat (wet wood smoke now) and delicious sweet sherry notes are practically spewing out of the glass, making me salivate and want to refresh the dram. Intoxicating.
Palate
Gentle, full, and warming with good viscosity. The peat is now showing as a wet peat from a well-smothered smouldering peat fire, devoid of roaring flame and starving of life giving oxygen. The peat arrives at the forefront and lasts through the finish, providing a consistent structure to this whisky. Touch of dark roast espresso powder or cocao powder, heavily roasted walnut-like nuttiness, heavily spiced (cinnamon, nutmeg) date loaf from my childhood, dark honey, and a few drops of vanilla branch off from the peat trunk. After a lengthy stay in the glass, a soft touch of fresh leather appears. The finish of this sherried peated whisky remains for a good length of time upon which retronasal exhales springs forth the smell of burning wet fall leaves on the burnpile from my childhood. North Star provides an official tasting note of “charred wood” and “burnt porridge” which could be an alternative, if fanciful, description to my experiences if you have tasted these items before.
There is virtually no alcohol prickle with only a mild tingle on the latter half of the experience; however to my senses, this is presented as the baking spice notes rather than %ABV heat. It’s dangerously drammable and provides a unique interplay between sweet (date loaf, honey) and bitter (espresso, cocao, nuts) notes, anchored by the damp peat/smouldering wet leaves experience.
The Dregs
I will admit that I’m a bit of a North Star fanboy. I’ve had several of their releases, ranging from the blended releases (Supersonic’s), Chaos bottlings, and their single cask releases. Of the many I’ve tried, I don’t think I would score one below a 5, with virtually all sitting very comfortably in the 6-7/10 range. And for me they are almost always coming in at a reasonable price point, making them an almost no-brainer purchase as they have earned my trust and whisky budget allocation. So when a peated Loch Lomond popped up, a distillery from which I always keep a keen eye one, it was promptly added to my cart, foregoing my typical wait and see mentality that combats my FOMO while also delaying my purchase in the hopes it is still available when my local stores typically host a quarterly sale, making sure my dollars go farther in the long run. Perhaps I’ll have to do a multi-bottle review of my many North Star’s in the future, seeing as this is only the second review on Dramface from this relatively new yet well-regarded independent bottler.
I believe it’s also worth noting that the power of the whisky community, and the online whisky community in particular, has in bringing people together. This limited release of 234 bottles has somehow connected myself (Canada) to Calder (Australia), separated by two Tropics, the equator, and many thousand km’s of ocean. How should that even be possible, short of random phone dialling a complete stranger on a different continent and hoping that they answer the phone, aren’t rude nor a serial killer, and have similar interests such that you can merrily converse and come away with a warm and fuzzy feeling of a budding friendship? I don’t know of such a universe-binding power, short of the Force, that can bind people together across vast distances.
“You will find only what you bring in.”
I guess I should end this off by talking about this peated Loch Lomond eh? I’ve only ever seen two Inchfads in my area over the last few years so I will be babying this one, drawing out my enjoyment until another crosses my path. There isn’t much to say really. Loch Lomond typically turns out good juice. North Star typically releases good whisky (imo). Put the two together and you get a good whisky. Pretty simple.
Score: 7/10 BB
Thanks to Broddy for the provision of the images.
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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