An unpretentious whiskey for all people
Last week, to commemorate the introduction of Starward Nova into the U.S., Starward Nova Whiskey hosted an exclusive whiskey tasting event in Chinatown at Peachy’s. This event let guests try both the whiskey by itself as well as some tasty whiskey cocktails. Being that this whiskey is straight from Melbourne, the cocktails served were also inspired by the different regions of Melbourne. What is really interesting about Starward Nova whiskey is that it is a whiskey that is stored in Australian red wine barrels for about 3 whole years and all the ingredients are sourced locally within a 10 mile radius of the distillery. This allows for the whiskey to take on some of the fruity notes from the barrels all while holding that distinct whiskey flavor.
As for the whiskey itself, upon first smell, you will definitely get a great bit of berry notes as well as other fragrant fruit smell. With the first sip of it, you get a note of vanilla at the front of your palate that is balanced with the taste of red berries and spice. The finishing notes hold the berry taste strong but end on a slightly tart taste which helps to not overload your taste buds with the intense fruity flavor.
As for the cocktails, each drink was inspired by one of five different regions in Melbourne and paired with a small bite that accentuated the flavor of the whiskey cocktail. Some of our favorites were the Melbourne CBD, the Abbotsford, and the St. Kilda.
The Melbourne CBD was a drink crafted to mimic that of a whiskey sour. It’s made with Starward Nova, Chinese 5 spice, honey, lemon, and garnished with a dehydrated lemon. The drink itself did take on the flavor of a classic whiskey sour, but with the natural fruity flavor of the Starward Nova, it really took the drink to the next level. This drink was also paired with a salt and pepper shrimp which gave a nice play of savory flavor in your mouth.
The next drink we really enjoyed was the Abbotsford which was made with Starward Nova, vanilla, cream, honey, egg yolk, and sparkling wine. The drink was actually less sweet than one would imagine. The vanilla in the drink definitely enhanced the vanilla notes in the whiskey and the honey paired with it gave a little added sweetness, but not enough to overpower the entire drink. The egg yolk gave the drink a great frothiness to it which made for a nice mouth feel when drinking. This drink was paired with a shitake and shepherd’s purse dumpling with a shallot and whiskey sauce.
And the last drink that we loved was the St. Kilda, which was a drink that was very much on the sweeter side and more of a dessert type cocktail. This drink is made with Starward Nova, Pimm’s, lemon, ginger, and pineapple. As stated earlier, the drink is on the sweeter side of things, but paired with the ginger and lemon evens out the drink where you aren’t overloaded with sweetness and get tired of the drink. The cocktail plays with sweetness and spice and really stimulates a lot of different portions of your palate. And paired with a brulee’d banana and whiskey cream éclair made it a perfect dessert drink where guests can finish off the night on a sweet note.
The event was a lot of fun to attend and really gave guests a chance to experience a different kind of whiskey that isn’t something you see everyday. Starward Nova is an unpretentious whiskey that both experts in whiskey and newcomers can enjoy and have fun with.
