World Whisky Review #56: Starward 4 Year (2016) The Whisky Exchange Exclusive

Distillery: Starward.

Region: Australia.

Age: 4 year. Distilled in 2016 and bottled in 2020.

ABV: 57.0%.

Whisky Type: Malt Whisky.

Cask Type: First Fill Australian Apera Wine.

Color: 1.5, Auburn / Polished Mahogany.

This is the 10th installment of this years’ Christmas Countdown. You can check out previous editions as well (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).

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Nose: It’s quite spicy with a load of baking spices. Leather varnish and wood furniture polish are also big notes here. If I didn’t know this was a malt whisky, my mind would have been thinking this was a rye whiskey instead.

Palate: More of the same on the palate. The baking spices, leather varnish, and wood furniture polish remain very prominent. Those notes are joined by dark cherries and a lot of woody notes. A splash of water brings out some more fruit and the more wood/leather notes do subside. The dark cherry notes are joined by a grape jam and something that reminds me an awful lot of Fig Newtons.

Finish: Fairly short for me. There’s a bit of the Fig Newton and that’s about it.

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Conclusion: I haven’t had much whisky from the land down under, in fact this Starward is the first I’ve reviewed from Oz. I’ve heard some mixed reviews of the whisky but I was really intrigued by the use of apera casks. Would it just come across like a sherry cask? Or would it be more in line with a sauternes or tokaji one? I’m not sure I have enough to say definitively here but this reminds me a lot of some red wine cask matured/finished whiskies. The dark fruit notes that do come out with some water really drive that impression home. It was certainly a fun one to try but I’m not exactly sure if I’d want to have more than a taste.

Rating: 76.

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World Whisky Review #56, Australian Whisky Review #1, Whisky Network Review #646

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.