Despite the burgeoning whisky scene in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand there just aren’t that many bottles here on the shelves in the US. The whiskies that do make it here from entirely the other side of the globe are marked up so high they can’t realistically compete with whiskies made closer to home, or at industrial scale from established brands. The whisky scene Down Under is still very much a craft affair. Imagine then my surprise at finding a readily available, regularly stocked Australian single malt for less than $50! While I got my bottle from my Flaviar Subscription, I’ve since seen it on the shelf at the local Total Wine.
Starward is a small upstart Melbourne distillery with a single pair of copper pot stills. They source all of the ingredients for their whisky from local Australian products (“within a day’s drive”), ferment the local malted barley with brewer’s yeast and then double-distill and age it on-site. Starward takes advantage of the availability of local Australian red wine casks (still wet with cabernet, pinot noir, and shiraz), steams them instead of heavily re-charring them to avoid disturbing that wine, and then full-term ages the whisky amid Melbourne’s unique “four seasons in a day” climate. This rapid heating and cooling achieves bottle quality within 2 to 3 years. This is similar to how distilleries in India and Taiwan are able to rapidly produce whisky that compares to Scotland’s 10- and 12-year-old products.
The marketing materials confusingly refer to this as “elementally matured”, which sounds kind of made-up to me. The resulting whisky is bottled at 41% ABV (weird) and retails in my neck of the woods for a pretty reasonable $50 – $60. I’ve purchased younger, rougher whisky made within my own state for that much. Nova is bottled without chill-filtration or added coloring. With all the red wine in the barrels they’re using, there’s no need for adding color.
Nose: Resin and balsamico, which quickly resolve into red grape and pomegranate. The malt is present, but in the background: providing a floor of malty sweetness and a mild nutty grain note. Pleasant and aromatic. A rest in the glass adds more sweetness, and a layer of cake frosting.
Palate: Thin, and very tannic body. Instantly mouth-drying. The tongue burn is negligible, almost nonexistent. A reprise of the aroma notes – red berries, port wine, and balsamic vinegar with a vague malt/grain backdrop.
Finish: Of medium length. A surprising dark chocolate note appears, which is downright delectable next to all that port and balsamic. The finish is very tannic, very mouth-drying. It doesn’t evolve much, but with that lovely chocolate note it doesn’t need to.
With Water: Now that chocolate is in my head, it’s all I can smell. The water might have revealed it, or my brain did. The water might be picking out a few extra fruit notes: kiwi fruit, coconut water. I suggest trying this without water and then with just a few drops to see how it changes for you.
Overall: I’m very happy with this dram. The price is acceptable, considering how far it has to travel to reach shelves near me. The flavors are competent and even exciting in places, and there are no off-flavors. It has a very successful sweet-dry balance, and the red wine barrel components are shockingly well-adapted (which is rare, especially considering the full-term maturation in red wine casks). If you’ve never had whisky from the region, Starward Nova is downright the easiest way to do so, and it’s tasty to boot.
Australian whisky has been on my radar for a long time now, as I keep hearing such good things. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have made it to any stores including Total Wine on the east coast yet. All the talk about mouth drying tannins brings to mind the Barolo I had with dinner last night. I started my whisky obsession wanting to try as many different single malt Scotch whiskies as I could get my hands on. Lately that has expanded to a desire to try single malts from as many countries as possible.
For what it’s worth, I see some East Coast stores carrying Nova: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/starward+nuova+single+malt+whisky+australia
Thanks for the info. In a move I should have made before commenting, I just checked Astor Wines in the East Village (NYC) and they carry this for $52. They also carry other offerings from this distillery, including a store that exclusive single cask, cask strength bottling.
Had a chance to sample Australian whiskies in Melbourne–unfortunately our bartender had unusual tastes and halfway through we got some wildly-sulfured juice that ruined our palates for the evening. Fortunately we sampled some Starward and port-finished Limeburners prior to that and ended up taking home a bottle of Starward Two-Fold, which was reasonably priced (and which has recently appeared here in Colorado). The Limeburners was memorably good, enough so that I’d over-pay for it … but I cannot find a way to get it in the States. I highly recommend it for what that’s worth.