Starward Ginger Beer Cask #7 70cl

Starward Ginger Beer Cask #7 70cl

This is the seventh edition Starward’s Ginger Beer Cask single malt. This whisky was matured for an additional 12 months in ex-ginger beer casks displaying aromas of dark chocolate covered ginger and orange blossom on the nose, leading to notes of fresh pineapple, raisin and candied ginger on the palate.

A single malt with a fiery redhead twist: it’s Starward Ginger Beer Cask #7.

More ginger than the love child of Damian Lewis and Patsy Palmer* eating a piece of Jamaica cake. In Scotland. With an orangutan. Yes, it’s the seventh iteration of Starward Ginger Beer Cask. The starting point is Staward’s delicious single malt whisky which is aged in casks that contained apera, a sherry-like wine from Australia.

So ginger

But the twist is that it then spends 12 months in casks that previously held the distillery’s own ginger beer. The previous version, #6, only got six months in cask so this has twice the ginge factor. Hence the Palmer/ Lewis/ Jamaica cake analogy.

It’s the latest limited edition from one of our favourite distilleries, Melbourne’s very own Starward, and it’s an exclusive to Master of Malt for the next two weeks. So you can get it only from us.

Starward recap

For those who don’t know about Starward, all we can say is, where have you been? Even my old dad knows about Starward and he has only just discovered that they make whisky outside Scotland. But in case you don’t, here’s a recap: Starward was founded in Melbourne in 2007 with the aim of making a distinctly Australian style of whisky. The team come from a mixture of wine and beer backgrounds so bring some interesting ideas to distillation. From the beer side, they use an Australian barley malted to a brewing specification and fermented with a brewer’s yeast. Both of these accentuate flavour rather than quick accumulation of alcohol.

Following a double pot still distillation, they then make use of some of the wonderful old wine casks available to them in Australia such as shiraz, pinot noir, and apera. These might be of made American, French, or East European oak. Founder David Vitale described the result as a “whisky that’s more Australian than Scotch is Scottish.”

Tasting Notes

Nose : Ginger, orange and dark chocolate

Palate : Strong spicy ginger, orange and fresh pineapple

Finish : Big warming mouthfeel with candied ginger, citrus and sweet Apera

About Starward 

David Vitale grew up in a large Italian family in multicultural Melbourne, well known for its innovative food culture. You could almost say that Melbourne is obsessed with food. David ultimately set his mind on making an Australian whiskey. Since winemakers have already managed to create a piece of the old world in Australia, why shouldn't the same be possible for whiskey? In addition, wine barrels have previously been used to either store or finish whiskey. Of course, David had to try it and after a few attempts he was successful. For its whiskeys, Starward uses Australian malted barley that is fermented with brewer's yeast. It gives the whiskeys a fruity aroma. The wine barrels used for storage are selected very carefully and are always full of aromas. In the final step, the whiskeys are only stored in Melbourne for three years. With arctic winds from the south and dry winds from the desert, Melbourne can experience all four seasons in just one day. Due to the strong temperature differences, the whiskey reacts much faster in the barrel than would be the case in Scotland. As Melbourne is also warmer, the whiskey tends to increase in alcohol content during storage rather than decreasing over time. For the Barossa Valley Single Barrel, Starward customers can choose their own barrel in which the whiskey was stored.

An increasingly popular brand in the west as time goes on

48% ABV

70cl