Bearface Spirits took home two Golds, including one for its Elementally Aged Triple Oak Whisky, enjoyed for “bread dough, maple syrup, toffee, caramel, honey, vanilla” notes, and another for its Whisky Wilderness Series 02 Mitlenatch Island Release. Starward whiskies are a journey into a distinctively Australian spirit and the possibilities for New World whisky. Each whisky has the Starward stamp from our wine barrel maturation, yet each whisky differs and offers something new. From single malt to double grain, American or French oak influences or approachability and complexity. There’s a whisky for every drinker. Street Distillery’s Australian Single Malt had a “sweet and complex nose” and was “light bodied and sweet on the aftertaste”. Six Silver medals brought the round to a close. Matt Chambers, whisky and spirits writer, and co-founder of the Whisky For Everyone blog, chaired a team consisting of: Renata Ma, of Grain & Glass, and a whisky specialist; and Herchelle Perez Terrado, founder of Drinks Partnership. Closures producer Talis was the official sponsor of The World Whisky Masters

The most acclaimed flight of the competition was Australasia single malts, in which seven Master medals were given out, including two to Starward and Lark. No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service. The finish is long and generally soft, before becoming slightly hot and peppery right at the end. The sweet elements and then the fruity characeristics fade and this leaves the malted cereals from the nose and warming baking spices from the palate to become more prominent. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder of the Terms shall continue in full force and effect. Testing a range of whiskies from England, America, Canada, India and more, The Good Housekeeping Institute’s WSET-certified experts tasted 34 drams, from super-smooth and easy-drinking to full-bodied and spicy.

Conclusion

Nose: Fruity notes come from tannic red apple skin, strawberry laces, apricot jam, orange peel, fresh raspberries and mango slices in juice. Alongside them is a dusting of cacao powder, oaky vanilla, ginger beer, a little charred chilli pepper. Then demerara sugar, maple syrup, nougat and milky coffee. Around the edges, toasted almonds and marzipan make an appearance, with some fresh nutmeg grated on top for good measure.

Three Golds were awarded in the European rye whisky flight, including two for Denmark’s Stauning and one for Stork Club Full Proof Rye Whiskey. Stauning Rye Maple Syrup Cask Finish was praised for its “classic rye spiciness” and “lingering sweetness” and Stauning Dirty Bastard was praised for its higher ABV, “oak spice and caramel sweetness”. Stork Club Full Proof Rye Whiskey from Germany’s Spreewood Distillers had a “lovely milk chocolate note on the palate” and “nice dried fruits, raisins and apricot”. The tools and ingredients to create an authentically Australian whisky include barley sourced from between Hunter Valley in Northern Sydney and the Adelaide Hills and apera and red wine casks from Victoria to mature the whisky. The distillery refers to the amount of time a whisky spends in cask as ‘Melbourne years’, which refers to the phenomenon that occurs when whisky is aged in a warmer climate, which affects the maturation process and has the apparent influence of accelerating it.Filer said of the Australasian whiskies: “On the whole, it was really classy, and these were well-integrated products with some emerging unique characters, but respectful of the style. They paid homage to single malts, but definitely brought character to the table without sweeping everything off. Very pleasant.”

Whisky is booming globally, too. It is expected to post an increase of 23% in volume and 29% in value by 2026, according to data from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, with an increase in activity particularly in its largest global markets, India and the US. STARWARD was born from a simple idea, borrowing knowledge from the past and marrying it with the best of what Australia has to offer this iconic spirit category: its barley, its barrels, and its climate. It is the temperamental climate that allows STARWARD distillers to take advantage of Melbourne’s ‘four seasons in one day’ climate to age their single malt in three years – in ex-sherry casks known as Apera casks – a process that founder David Vitale calls ‘elemental maturing’. A second team consisted of me, Nicola Carruthers, deputy editor of The Spirits Business. I chaired spirits educator Antony Moss, and Claire Filer, of Ginesthesia. Whether you’re just curious or looking to expand your whisky repertoire outside of Scotland, there’s a huge benefit to looking to the rest of the world for your next dram. Each country has its own climate, benefits from using locally grown ingredients and produces with a fresh perspective, resulting in some very exciting discoveries.In fact, Master of Malt is hailing 2023 as the year of English whisky, with sales up 168% since 2020, and a growing number of awards won. Chambers added: “Some lovely examples but also some that were a little mean and too woody. There also seems to be an obsession with bottling at high ABV. Some of these would benefit from being lower strength.” If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Left-Field is matured in 100 per cent French oak casks, including some which have been charred to add another flavour dimension to the whisky. The barrels were sourced from the premier Australian wine-producing regions of the Barossa Valley and Yarra Valley. Earlier this week, we published results for The American Whiskey Masters and The Irish Whiskey Masters.