Continuing with my concentrated exploration of Starward distillery I’ve pulled out the Starward Projects Bourbon Cask. Starward Projects is a program that allows the Starward distillers to experiment with different whiskies and create flavour forward and unique expressions. Each release is limited and once it’s sold out, it’s gone. This release was limited to 1,200 bottles and originally proced at AUD$139, now its pushing AUD$230 if you can find it. This Projects release is apparently an ‘outrageously popular’ bottling, the first Starward not to feature red wine influences. This is a big change in direction for Starward; single malt whisky matured wholly in bourbon barrels. Specifically four barrels from Makers Mark and Wild Turkey have been working for four and a half Melbourne years, allowing the barrels to showcase Starwards spirit. N: Soft, bright, and green. A little ethanol protrudes but there is an intense delivery of green banana, slightly sour pineapple, creamy vanilla-white chocolate, and acidic crisp apple. Maintains a good balance but perhaps overall the nose is a little muted. P: Silky to creamy mouthfeel. Buttery beyond what I expected, caramel biscuit, gooseberry and grilled pineapple, toasted coconut, and a slight oily-nuttiness. The malt is quite subdued, but what is there under the barrel presence is like a buttery shortbread biscuit. As fresh and easy as this palate is there is a building peppery heat. F: Medium. Vanilla cream and coconut with honey and a little demerara sugar. Drinking this has reminded me of one of my favourite Australian distillers, Limeburners, and their American Oak release. This Starward Projects Bourbon Cask, like Limeburners AO, is approachable and appreciable as a refreshing, light, and easy pour. However, where this Starward loses ground is for the presence of underlying malt, or rather, the slight absence of it. Although there is a delicate shortbread buttery biscuit in here it is the barrels that are doing all the heavy lifting. More malt in the palate and finish would lift this to a higher level. Price is for 500 ml bottle. Distiller whisky taste #204 [Pictured here with another shooting star for Starward. This unassuming little lump is one of the most precious rocks in my collection, and perhaps one of the most scientifically important objects on Earth. This is a type of meteorite called a carbonaceous chondrite. Chondrites are so called as they contain tiny spherical droplets called chondrules, the most pristine chemical remnants of the early solar system and the building blocks of planetary bodies. The Earth is ~4.54 billion years old, these chondrules though are somewhere around 4.567 and 4.68 billion years old. This meteorite was recovered from near Erfoud in Morocco.] Starward running scores: Fortis: 3.25/5 Whisky Club Exclusive, Maple Cask: 2/5 Whisky Club Exclusive, Cognac Cask: 3.5/5 Projects, Octave Barrels: 3.75/5 Projects, Dolce: 2.25/5 Projects, Bourbon Cask: 3.5/5 Small Batch, Hungarian Oak: 3/5