Nose: Caramel, butterscotch, wine, floral and citrus notes. Some cherry and berry aromas. Palate: Sweet toffee arrival, as it develops the sweetness recedes and is balanced by a pleasantly soft but tannic dryness and some mild peppery-anise notes. Red fruits, grapes, plums – fruity but not overly winey. Finish: A medium finish – dry, fruity and nutty with a faint touch of spices. The nose is brighter than that of the solera expression. It also seems more balanced and textured with a dry rather than sweet profile. Like all Starward whiskies this is somewhere between bourbon and scotch in character. It takes you a little while to wrap your head around this. I'd suggest just pouring a dram and relaxing with it with no preconceptions or expectations. If you set out to compare it (or any Australian whisky) with scotch whisky or bourbon you'll be disappointed. You need to give it time to speak for itself. The relatively short maturation is entirely in Australian ex-shiraz barrels, and this imparts a robust and pleasantly dry character. It’s a more complex and interesting whisky than the solera expression and repays patient tasting. Good competent whisky. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)
About this bottle
A new edition to New World Distillery's range, their Wine Cask edition represents the search for new flavor. Matured in Barossa ex-shiraz casks for only a few years in 100 and 200 liter casks. (Barossa is a premium wine region of Australia, known for its big and bold fruit-forward red wines). CEO and founder David Vitale began the idea of the distillery in 2004, with the hope that his whisky would be unshackled by tradition, a new height and adventure for an age-old dram. Note: This is not currently available in the US.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 23 parsed reviews.
Nose - fruity and sweet Palate - some type of fruit and banana, only mildly sweet and definitely spicy Finish - short and very dry, definitely unique Overall - tasty and with the spicy ness and dryness, something I would enjoy mid-way through the evening or with food
Full of character.. the first sip woke me up like a slap in the face. It keeps going too with the fruity vanilla and a hint of peat. Factor in the bargain proce of $80AUD and you got good all-round smooth whisky that culminates a perfectly balanced fine-tuned drop.
Easily one of my all time favourites. This whisky brings something uniquely Australian to the table. The beautiful Barossa shiraz casks have given such depth and flavour to the whisky. I love, love, love it!
Almost port-like dessert wine aroma with amazing mouth feel. Can definitely taste the oaky barrels, and is reflected in the incredible caramel colour. Not as good on the rocks or with water, drink it neat
Strong on the nose with banana and vanilla. On the palate it's smooth, got some spice with the wine characteristics present. The finishing rounded and nice.
17 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
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