Starward Small Batch 'Sticky Toffee Apple' 48%ABV 30ml

3.25/5 6th April 2023 (modified from @drrhcmadden on Distiller)

Nose: Names on the bottle, sticky and sweet. Toffee apple is unsurprisingly the main player but there is a more delicate perfume and a savoury vanilla. Together, these subtle notes stop things becoming cloying. After a good 15 minutes I’m finding the smallest hint of raisin.

Palate : Viscous and sticky with lovely acidity. The apple brandy comes through strong with a scrumpy cloudy cider character. Very warming bakery spice and pastry. A darker toffee than the nose develops on the mid palate. A slight red wine influence as a jammy plum is subdued bud adds some depth to the profile.

Finish: Surprisingly long. Fresh juicy sweetness, apple puree, chaired pineapple and a hot ginger-cinammon. The fresh juiciness is what lasts the longest.

This has a beautifully delicate nose interweaved with a heavyweight apple brandy that builds into a just barely balanced palate and a monster finish. The three parts of nose, palate, and finish all have that thick apple brandy essence but they are not one and the same, each brings a different aspect. The most immediate comparison I can draw is the Glenfiddich Orchard Experiment, however, the gentle influence of Starwards red wine casks have added just enough extra depth to make this a more interesting apple brandy finishing. The second comparison then is the Whisky Club Exclusive Starward Cognac Cask. The Starward CC is the subtler finish, with a more rounded and varied palate, better acidity, chocolatey-creamy and velvety texture, and a brightening spritz of orange. Still, this is a valiant effort and certainly lives up to its name sake of ‘Sticky Toffee Apple’