Solera
Single Malt Whisky
Our rich, complex original.
Solera was our very first whisky and is a bona fide Starward take on a traditional whisky expression. Rich and well balanced jammy fruits, creme brûlée and spice with a lingering dry finish. Solera neat, over ice or shaken up in a classic cocktail.
There’s a time for tradition and there’s a time to go rogue.
Solera was the first whisky where we borrowed from tradition then started asking questions. It left us with a whisky deemed world class not just by us, but award judges too.
Tasting notes
Nose / Bright tropical and orchard fruits, caramel and vanilla.
Palate / Toasty caramel and creme brûlée, banana, figs and sweet spice.
Finish / Juicy and full with a lingering dry spice.
A touch of our first ever cask in every bottle.
Solera is a traditional method the Spanish used to age their Sherry and keep it consistent. A fractional amount of each young cask is blended with more mature spirit. It's the inspiration for making our Solera. And it means there's still a touch of our first ever cask in every bottle made today.
We source every Solera ingredient from just a day's drive away. A quintessential grain like Australian malted barley was a no-brainer to start with. Then, for a bold, craft flavour we ferment our barley with brewers' yeast.
Next, the barrel.
We wanted barrels with one hell of a history. Our Apera barrels, an Aussie fortified wine similar to Sherry, have typically held spirit over decades. That's some seriously flavorful oak.
A neat reflection of Melbourne.
At first, maturation was a bit of trial and error. We were used to Scottish whiskies with age statements over a decade long. But we soon found out that wasn’t Melbourne weather’s style. The wildly varied temperatures of one Melbourne day means whisky works harder in the barrel, absorbing flavor from the wood in a much shorter time.
With this elemental maturation, Solera is a neat reflection of Melbourne; wild weather and all.