English Whisky Co 2007 North Star 11 Year Old, Sauternes Wine Cask, Cask #100, 2007, North Star Spirits, 51.8%

DaybreakRadio23 Sept

Oak char meets red fruit.

There's a pleasing shift from oak char and red grape skin on the nose to dark chocolate-dipped cherry and raspberry jam on the palate. The flinty backdrop keeps that ripe fruit from reading as all sweetness, while five spice adds a clear counterpoint. Stewed plum and malt carry the finish. The flinty note is the hook for me; it gives this English single malt a more grounded edge than the wine-led fruit alone.

The red wine cask designation gives this 11-year-old English single malt a useful point of focus, and the notes support that connection with red grape skin and distinctive wine aromas. The palate moves into darker chocolate-dipped cherry, then adds flint and five spice before raspberry jam. That mix of wine-related fruit and savoury detail sounds more layered than a straightforward cask-led profile. The malty finish with stewed plum offers a grounded close; I’d put this in the more interesting, fruit-forward corner of the style.

The dark chocolate-dipped cherry and raspberry jam sound sweet and rich, while the flinty backdrop gives them a drier edge. That contrast is what appeals to me.