• THE DROP - Payment Storage

THE DROP - Payment Storage

Add this product to cart and checkout to join THE DROP.

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Before you join, here's what to know:

  • THE DROP is a members-only program featuring rare and experimental Starward releases. Spots are genuinely scarce — first in, best dressed.
  • Purchasing this $0 item starts your membership. From there, you'll automatically receive each subsequent DROP. DROP 03 is charged 29 October and will ship on 4 November.
  • Each release is $350 and includes one exclusive Small Batch or experimental whisky and one early-access Project release, both 700mL.
  • You'll always get notice before you're charged. Before each DROP, we'll let you know what's inside, the price, and when it's leaving the distillery. If you need to sit one out, you'll have the chance to skip. Skips are limited to one per calendar year.

Read the full terms and conditions here.

THE DROP 03 · Amaro Cask Small Batch

THE DROP EXCLUSIVE
Originally filled into fresh red wine French Oak Barriques in December 2018 this whisky was transferred to three Amaro Barriques in 2022, then left to mature for another four years, for a grand total of nine years in French oak. These Amaro casks had come back to us from our friends at Regal Rogue, after we sent them there to mature a special, limited edition Amaro.

This journey resulted in a decadent, moreish dram bursting with aromas of strawberry gum, cola and cacao. The palate is rich with red fruits, baking spices and caramel with a balanced, orange pith and ginger spice through the finish.

TASTING NOTES
Nose / Strawberry gym, cola, cacao
Palate / Red fruits, baking spices, caramel bitters
Finish / Balanced, orange pith, ginger spice

THE DROP 03 · STARWARD PROJECTS: RUM CASK

This Project is a Starward first, using barrels shared between two distilleries. Ex-Nova red wine casks were sent to Red Ridge Rhum Distillery in 2022 to finish an artisanal, pot distilled rum made from wild fermented sugarcane juice.

After their sunny, rum soaked holiday in Queensland, our casks returned home to Port Melbourne in 2023, where we filled them with red-wine matured single malt whisky and left them to rest for another three years.

The result is a fun, festive whisky that combines the classic red fruit notes of Starward Nova with the tropical funk of fresh cane rum. Just like it’s jaunty tropical label, this whisky is fun, fruity, bold and unmistakably Aussie, ready to let its hair down for the festive season.

TASTING NOTES
Nose / Golden syrup, coconut, tinned pineapples
Palate / Shortbread, toasted banana bread
Finish / Long with lingering flavours of dried papaya, toffee and toasted oats

THE DROP 02 · SINGLE BARREL: YARRA VALLEY PINOT CASK

THE DROP EXCLUSIVE

This Single Barrel release showcases Victoria through wet-filled French Oak Yarra Valley Pinot Puncheons. Distilled in 2018, it spent three years maturing in French red wine barriques before a further four years in wet Pinot Puncheons, creating a layered double red wine cask maturation with vibrant aromas of strawberry pie and rose.


On the palate, expect cherry, cedar and dark chocolate, finishing with lingering red berry compote and alluring spice.


TASTING NOTES

Nose / Strawberry pie, rose, mineral graphite (petrichor)

Palate / Cherry, cedar, dark chocolate

Finish / Red berry compote and alluring spice

THE DROP 02 · OCTAVE BARRELS - 2026 RELEASE

Our second collaboration with Yalumba fully matures our Australian single malt in fresh and charred 100L Octave barrels that previously held The Octavius Shiraz. An additional five years of maturation has created a richer, more elegant expression with remarkable depth and complexity.


Bright notes of raspberry and vanilla lead into rhubarb, date and coconut, finishing long with integrated oak and velvety tannins.


TASTING NOTES

Aroma / Raspberries, Vanilla, Red Liquorice

Palate / Rhubarb, Date, Coconut, Petrichor

Finish / Long with well integrated fruit, oak and velvet tannins

THE DROP 01 · YEAST TRIAL SERIES - D-53

THE DROP EXCLUSIVE

This is our first yeast trial release using D53; a yeast that turns up the dial on tropical and floral notes, resulting in an aromatic, elegant & complex whisky. This release was then filled into second fill Tawny and from here, the spirit really shines through. Aromas of mango, pineapple & jasmine followed by luscious flavours of Crème brûlée from the Tawny on the nose and palate.


TASTING NOTES

NOSE / Mango, Pineapple, Jasmine

PALATE / Zippy burst of fruits on the front palate, rounding out to salted caramel and toasted oak.

FINISH / Lingering tropical fruits, sublte char & wood spice

THE DROP 01 · CO-FERMENT: SHIRAZ

Co-Ferment Australian Spirit is crafted with equal parts freshly crushed grape juice to our single malt, malted barley wash, pitched with our brewer’s yeast, fermented, and distilled to the same specs as our Single Malt. The result? A wonderfully balanced integration of brandy aromas, intriguing varietal characters, complimented with a malty body and lasting finish of a whisky. 

 

Our second release, Shiraz grapes and Malt, follows the successful release of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2025.


TASTING NOTES

NOSE / Plum, raspberries, black forest chocolate.

PALATE / Burst of fresh red berries on the front palate, drawing out to flavours of vanilla slice, coconut & baking spice.

FINISH / Freshly buttered toast & vanilla slice.