Our Latest Oak Barrel Exclusive Whisky! Bottled for the 2024 Sydney Whisky Fair
This single cask, ex-Apera Barrel #109 may be familiar to some of you, as will be the name. In fact, this bottling is a refill from our previous collaboration, Smoke & Mirrors back in 2021. The barrel was refilled back in 2021, with spirit coming from a vatting of Red Wine, Rum, Tawny & Apera Casks. The cask was then left to mature until now.
We were lucky enough to try this incredible whisky with David Vitale at the distillery in early August, which he compared to some an early Starward Double Cask bottling, one of his personal favourites. Personally, we feel Starward spirit is at home in a refill cask, with the nuances and complexity of the distillery’s spirit shining through, whilst the influence of the cask brings depth & richness without becoming overbearing. Starward Single Casks are often labelled with 3 key flavour notes, in the case of this bottling we have Demerara, Toffee & Dried Fruits.
The oldest stock in this release comes from the older, Essendon Fields era of Starward, and was distilled in 2011, whilst the youngest was distilled in 2018. This results in a mixture of flavours reminiscent of the “Old Era” Starwards, being more funky. Allen’s Red Frogs come to mind. Ontop of that, there is the balance and complexity of modern Starward, with depth rivalling (perhaps beating…) the Vitalis.
What an incredible bottle to celebrate a Decade of Starward x Oak Barrel releases. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!
Official Tasting Notes:
Nose: Red frogs, cuban cigar ash, hints of vegemite, hints of nutella… A battle of the breakfast spreads.
Palate: More red frogs! Classic Starward chewiness reminiscent of The Good Old Days… Caramel chews, tawny tannins and a slight, oxidised spice. Opens up incredibly well after a few minutes in the glass!
Finish: Longer than you would expect, some real old oak dryness underneath all the rich, fruit characteristics.
The Starward distillery is based in Port Melbourne, south of the CBD. Founded by David Vitale, it is one of the best known Australian whisky brands both locally and globally.
