Starward Australian Whisky Releases Limited Edition Whisky
David Vitale intentionally avoided Scotland when creating the flavor profile of his whisky brand. The founder of Starward Australian Whisky had long been fascinated by Scotch whisky’s distinctive taste but didn’t want it to affect Starward.
Once Vitale had found the flavor that captured the essence of Melbourne, he and his team traveled to Scotland. They visited more than a dozen distilleries that welcomed and encouraged the fledgling Australian distillery.
After nearly two decades of exploring Scotland’s western Whisky Coast, Starward has teamed up with the 200-year-old Lagavulin Distillery to create the limited-edition Starward Single Malt Australian Whisky Finished in Ex-Lagavulin Barrels.
Starward Australian Whisky Releases Starward Single Malt Australian Whisky
“I’m a hopeless romantic,” Vitale told Travel + Leisure. “So I’d get wrapped up in that world and try to imitate it, which would be a failure of the brand’s ambition.”
“The best whiskies not only reflect their ingredients but also the culture of the place they’re made,” Vitale said. “Starward is my love letter to Melbourne.”
It’s not hard to travel vicariously through whisky, said Vitale, which transports drinkers both to the picturesque Scottish island of Islay and to Melbourne, a dynamic metropolis.
According to Vitale, the company’s original whiskies, including the award-winning Two-Fold, the single malt Nova, and the first whisky, Solera, let people “live that Melbourne lifestyle vicariously.”
A blend of local barley and wheat is distilled and aged in ex-shiraz, pinot noir, and cabernet barrels they source from wineries in the nearby Yarra Valley and Barossa Valley. This unique blending gives it a reddish hue and reveals subtle tannins and notes of red fruits.
A major influence on the finished product is Melbourne’s climate. Situated between two deserts, the Outback to the north and Antarctica to the south, dramatic weather shifts mean the barrels work constantly.
Vitale is proud of the impact on his spirits stated. “We couldn’t make this whisky from a process point of view anywhere else in Australia, let alone the world, and have the same product.”