Nose: Intense caramel and toffee aromas, butterscotch, honey and a little vanilla. Palate: A sweet, hefty butterscotch, caramel and mild spice arrival. As it develops creamy sherry and oak flavours emerge, but they remain subtle. Some dried fruit tastes – figs, dates, etc. – appear in the background along with some nutmeg. Finish: The sherry and oak that surfaced mid-development carry on through to the end, which is well balanced. The nose is quite heavy and sweet. It bears a passing resemblance to bourbon but does not have the strong vanilla and fruitiness. It’s also not quite like a scotch malt either – it’s somewhere between the two. The barley used is brewer’s barley that is generally used for ale, and they employ both brewer’s and distiller’s yeasts. The maturation is period is short and intense (think 2-3 years of racking like a bourbon rather than long resting in a dunnage). Maturation is done entirely in re-toasted Australian apera (ie sherry) casks of varying sizes, and the contents are decanted from barrel to barrel in a solera-like process throughout the maturation cycle. New World Whisky Distillery relocated to the suburb of Port Melbourne a couple of years ago, and this coincided with several changes to the distillery equipment, including a new wash still. As their new make spirit is typically aged for 2-3 years this means that all Starward whisky currently on retailer’s shelves (as at mid-2018) is from the old distillery stock. Later this year will be the roll-out of the first whisky distilled and matured at the new premises. There has been a slight change of distillery profile, from a rather caramel focused character (like this one I tasted) to a more fruity sherried style. I expect this latter style is the expression that will be getting a lot of exposure on international markets. A comfortable and enjoyable whisky, lacking in complexity but making up for it with heft and style. It reminds me a bit of some recent American craft malt whiskies. “Above Average” : 80/100 (3 stars)