Starward Whisky has continued its winning ways after being recognised as the World’s Best Premix and World’s Best Contemporary Cocktail at the World Premix Awards and collecting a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The World Premix Award wins came for the (New) Old Fashioned bottled cocktail, is an aromatic blend of Starward whisky, orange bitters and wattle seed demerara syrup, all of which are made and blended in-house.
Speaking on that win, Starward Founder, David Vitale, said: “Our team at Starward continue to push the boundaries of what modern whisky can be. We have many things to thank for this continuous endeavour of perfection, including Melbourne and the creative, inspiring and pioneering culture it fosters.
“So, we are proud of our (New) Old Fashioned being recognised as the ‘World’s Best Premix’, an honour bestowed on just a few.”
The San Francisco Double Gold came for the Starward Tawny Single Malt Whisky, a limited-edition whisky finished in Australian Tawny casks.
Each barrel was a smaller 100L octave size to give this whisky an extra full-bodied taste. Starward distillers opted for fresh Tawny barrels from Yalumba for vibrant fruity flavours, then charred Tawny barrels from SA Cooperage to add toasty oak complexity and notes of raisin, brown sugar, fig and dried orange.
Vitale added: “Very few are judged a perfect gold medal score, so to receive this double gold for our whisky is phenomenal. This whisky truly exemplifies our innovative ethos, it’s an example of what experimentation and a bit of ‘caution to the wind’ can produce.
“It’s Australian Whisky, it’s what we make it. Now, the world is celebrating it with us.”
