Starward Octave Barrels The Octavius 2018 / 2021 3 Year Old

Mellow, Sweet Fruity
2022-03-11
Specialising in red wine barrels, Starward takes advantage of the Australian climate and experiments with various bottlings in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city.
Australia is really not known as a whisky country. "Four seasons in a day" say the inhabitants about their own climate. In the morning, you never know whether you need a sunshade or an umbrella. But this means that the whisky works much faster with the cask than it would if the temperatures were constant.
At Starward, they think in terms of projects. There is not "the one" standard bottling, as is the case with other distilleries. Basically, they bottle with a lower alcohol content than usual, which should lead to a sweeter character. In addition, the climate is drier. This in turn means that the alcohol content of the whisky increases instead of decreasing.
Starward Octave Barrels The Octavius 2018 / 2021 3 Year Old
Starward Octave Barrels The Octavius 2018 / 2021 3 Year Old (Preview Image Source: The Whisky Exchange)
Single Malt Whisky | 3 Year Old | 48,00 % ABV. | 128,34 €/l | Starward Distillery | produced in Australia | Whiskybase ID 218606

Smell

We immediately feel like we are in a car paint shop. After the first impression has faded, bourbon-like aromas of ripe peach take over, which are clearly replaced by berry-like red wine at the end. An interesting journey.

Taste

Toasted toastbread with maple syrup goes hand in hand with overly toasted croutons. In the background, we perceive oak and a slight alcoholic spiciness.

Finish

If we were in Finland in the snow at -20 degrees, the long, very alcoholic, spicy finish would probably do us good and warm us up. Otherwise, unfortunately, there's not much.

Thoughts

Potential is there. Due to the small 100 litre casks, the Whisky matures much faster and also the climate of Australia leads to exciting results. For 3 years, it gives quite a lot and is surprisingly intense. Two more years would certainly have done quite well to reduce the alcoholic content, which is too prominent. For the small edition, the value for money ratio is acceptable. Compared to Scottish single malts, it is definitely too expensive.

Rating: 65/100 - Good (Marcel: 65 | Sascha: 65)

Value for Money: 2/5 - Bad

Preview Image Source: The Whisky Exchange

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