Starward Octave Barrels The Octavius 3 Years (2018/2021)
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.
The panel
Mean 65.0 · spread 0
Value for money 2/5
- Distillery
- Starward
- Type
- Single Malt
- Country
- Australia
- Age
- 3 years
- Strength
- 48% ABV
- Character
- mellow
Tasting
Nose
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.
Palate
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.
Verdicts
Marcel
For a three-years Australian whisky, the Octavius surprisingly delivers a lot of character and drinking pleasure – even if the alcoholic sharpness sometimes takes center stage. The experiment with small casks and the Down Under climate produces exciting aromas that leave you wanting more, but an additional two years of maturation would definitely do it good.
Sascha
The Octavius shows interesting approaches in balance and complexity, but suffers from an overly dominant alcoholic sharpness that limits the tasting experience. The use of small 100-liter casks and the Australian climate accelerate maturation, yet a longer cask time would be necessary to harmonize the structure and fully realize its potential.
What it is worth
No auction record for this distillery, so we cannot tell you what this bottle is worth. We would rather say that than guess.