Starward: the distillery that never crashes

How it's done

This guiding principle forced Dave and his team to be experimental from day one, it’s a belief that remains alive and well in the fundamentals of the distilling process today.

“A lot of the distillers here are ex-brewers or winemakers and are able to bring experience and ideas from other fields of alcohol production,” says Starward Blender. Carlie Dyer. “For example, our barley is a brewing malt, which is kilned to a pale ale. We also pitch with a distiller's yeast, and we co-pitch with a brewer's yeast as well. It’s a yeast that gives us a very fruit-forward spirit.”

The pioneering spirit doesn’t end there. Thanks to Dave's eye towards sustainability and cost-cutting, he opted not to import bourbon barrels. Instead, he took a chance on options he could acquire nearby—first, small-format sherry casks, and next, Australian wine barrels.

“We were the pioneers for red wine cask maturation, and since then, we've always been driven to break the boundaries,” explains Carlie.

Nova and Two-Fold are the first offspring of this leap into the unknown. And while they are both highly regarded and awarded, what makes them truly special is how unspecial they are. That is to say, these are easy-drinking, accessible whiskies that don’t require a waistcoat and a fob watch to enjoy.

By taking whisky out of the boys club and putting it in the dining room, what we are left with is a drinking experience that replaces machismo with joy.

The distillery that’s never crashed

There is something poetic about Starward starting out in the suburbs of Melbourne in an old Qantas aircraft hangar. What we like even more than the obvious metaphor about taking to the skies, is the one about the airline that’s never crashed.

How does any business with experimentation at its heart, maintain focus? It’s a question very few creators have managed to answer for themselves, let alone operationalise across a business. Carlie walks us through it.

But what about the crashes? “Not everything passes, that's why we start small,” says Carlie. “We're quite a close team here and there's always constructive feedback, if something doesn't work it's not taken too badly.”

This willingness to take risks and learn together as a team has meant that while creativity and experimentation are important at Starward, it’s how they use the knowledge it affords that sets them apart.

Success brings with it expectations. And not even a non-conformist like Starward could escape that. This might explain 100 Proof, the high ABV, sip-it-neat addition to their core range. This bottle is an offering to more traditional drinkers, it's aged in American Oak and lauded by the usual suspects like San Francisco World Spirits Comp and The World Whisky Masters.

It’s not quite a foray into the old boys club, but nor is it a drink for the dinner table. What it does prove is that Starward knows how to cater to the growing spectrum of contemporary whisky drinkers.

A seat at the table

Starward's distillery offers a variety of ways to experience their whisky. "This [bar and lounge] space is about two times the size of the distillery," says Dave. "There's a very deliberate reason for that." While the process is important—it's the reason they're so awarded—Dave doesn't want to get lost in the world of makers, he wants the Port Melbourne destination to be dedicated to the world of experiences.

And there are many of them under one roof, from a menu designed around the product range to the opportunity to "fill your own bottle". The true genius of the space reflects the true genius of the brand: there's something for everyone from hard-core whisky lovers to those that are merely curious.

"We had a lot of fun creating this new space with completely fresh eyes, looking towards the horizon to do something different with the brand home," he adds.

Over the last 15 years, Starward has succeeded in its mission to bring together food, friends, and whisky. Maybe they’ve succeeded so well that many of you reading this will be wondering what the big deal is.

For others, those of us who are yet to plop a bottle of whisky on the dining table, Carlie insists that we don’t wait, “I love eating cheese with whisky. Solera is really good with some fig jam and creamy blue cheese. Nova is delicious with dark chocolate or even a mousse and Two-Fold, because it's so light, is perfect with an apple crumble or apple pie.”

Whisky and apple pie? Now there’s a radical idea we can get behind.