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THE STARWARD BOURBON CASK #2
An ‘ode to what could have been’
It’s no secret here at Starward that wine barrels play a huge part in the maturation of our whisky, however, our latest limited-edition release was actually matured in bourbon barrels instead. This method is nothing new, it’s been tried and tested for years. That’s why when Dave first began crafting whisky, he thought about importing bourbon barrels to make a beautiful, proven high-quality whisky, which would have been perfect to showcase the new make spirit we work so hard to craft. But, Dave didn’t want to do it by the book. We like to think of Bourbon Cask #2 as the Starward whisky that ‘could’ve been’ if Dave had continued down the path of maturing whisky in bourbon barrels instead of wine barrels. Think of it as our ‘sliding doors’ moment that changed Starward’s trajectory forever.
The gamble
Just over fifteen years ago, Dave faced a fork in the road: mature Starward whisky in bourbon barrels like the rest of the world or forge the road less travelled and (quite literally) pour all of the spirit into Australian red wine barrels. Ageing whisky in freshly-emptied wine barrels – what could go wrong? Well, anything and everything, actually. It might not mature correctly; the wine could negatively interact with the neutral spirit; the oak could be the wrong flavour profile. Nobody really knew for certain. But today, Dave’s pursuit of originality and crafting a whisky that reflected Australia in every sip; from the grain to the barrels sourced within a day’s drive from our distillery, well and truly paid off. Fast forward to 2024 and we're not only famous for our red wine barrel maturation but we take home awards for it too (13 Double Gold Medals, 8 Platinum Medals and 13 Gold Medals at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, to be exact). It's all we've ever known and we wouldn't have it any other way.
