Starward Two-Fold Double Grain

A double-grain Whisky aged in ex-Wine barrels from the land of Australia.

Melbourne is famous for its insane weather, where all four seasons present themselves in one day like it’s a demo. Such changes may be obnoxious to some people, but they’re perfect for maturing Whisky. While Starward began as a producer of Malt Whisky in 2007, founder David Vitale has since expanded to a range of Whiskies and bottled cocktails that have taken the world by storm. He sources his barley from the nearby farms, while the maturation barrels come from some of Australia’s most famous Wine regions; think the Barossa Valley and Yarra Valley. Starward’s Whisky spends at least two years in Red Wine barrels, which is when crazy climate takes over and accelerates the process to mature the Whisky in "Melbourne years." Their Spirits are unique and unmistakably Aussie.

The guys at Starward had a vision for creating a Whisky that is both affordable and approachable. Thus, they’ve developed the Two-Fold Double Grain Whisky, maintaining their no-compromises approach. Technically, Starward Two-Fold Whisky is hard to describe. Usually, when you use the term "Blended Whisky" it means a bunch of Malt and Grain Spirits assembled from several distillery sources. But really, this is a marriage of two by blending a malt barley Whisky with a balancing and aromatic wheat Spirit — and since Melbourne sits amongst Australia’s Wine country, the combined Spirit is aged in some of the world’s best Red Wine barrels.

Starward Two-Fold Double Grain guided tasting. Brad Japhe takes us on a tasting adventure through the Whiskeyverse of Advent Calendar 2021.