Simon Marton, CEO, Starward Whisky

Simon Marton, CEO

STARWARD WHISKY

MELBOURNE’S POPULAR WHISKY BRAND, STARWARD IS APPLYING ITS HOME CITY’S REPUTABLE COOL AND EDGY ETHOS WITH INSPIRING AND EXCITING RESULTS. CEO, SIMON MARTON TALKS ABOUT HIS NEW ROLE AND THE FUTURE OF THIS INNOVATIVE LOCAL AUSTRALIAN URBAN SPIRIT.

Words Melissa Parker

Congratulations on your role as CEO of Starward, now you are on board what is Starward’s projected position is in 5 and 10 years time?

The vision is to become one of the world’s most famous whisky brands. We want to be a pioneer of whisky internationally and grow a brand that is strong, that consumers love and is part of their repertoire. A big part of that vision is to focus on the US as a primary market and Australia as our home market. We want to make quality Australian whisky that is unique in the world of whisky and stand out from the pack by being different.

What is your view on distilling in Australia and the local distilling industry in general?

It reminds me of where the Australian wine industry was 20 or 30 years ago. There are so many of the same challenges, opportunities and similarities such as the way the industry is working collaboratively together. We are on the up and up. You cant underestimate the perception of quality of Australian food and drink around the world. In Australia we can do things the way we want to and we don’t have to conform to everyone else’s rules. I think there is a massive passion in the (local spirits) industry like the wine industry. The world discovered Australian wine and the world is discovering Australian spirits.

How is the off premise retail and on premise trade embracing the local product here?

We have seen a lot of influencing accounts in bars and restaurants really get behind Australian spirits because it offers diversity. In off-premise retail there is no doubt the chains and the independents are supportive. If you look at the chains, they are wanting to support local brands in food, they are wanting to support local brands across all categories and spirits is a new opportunity for them so they are right behind it. Every year they have been increasing the space, the support and the visibility for Australian brands. We like the support that we get from the trade. It helps and as a brand centred in Melbourne, the strength of support for Starward has been strong here but it has also been equally strong in New South Wales and Queensland as well. So the opportunity for us is not just being seen as Melbourne but as a national brand.

What is happening in export markets for Starward?

US is our number one focus for export and we have been in the US for just over a year and doing quite well. We have been in the UK for two and a half years and doing well. We started in France last year. France is a huge whisky market and one of the biggest in the world. They are very into

STARWARD Founder David Vitale

whiskies of the world as a concept. Last year we launched in Japan. Again, a very big whisky market with advanced consumers who understand a lot about whisky. We are looking to expand into new markets in the future but the US is our big focus.

Can you discuss the range of whiskies that Starward produces now and what is the plan to expand the portfolio in the future. Tell us about the liquid that is currently in the pipe.

There are two core whiskies that are available all year. The first one is our Starward Nova which is a single malt whisky made at our distillery here in Port Melbourne. We bring in the barley grown close to the distillery and make a pot still single malt whisky exclusively matured in used red wine barrels from Australian wine makers. That is our signature product and sells in Australia for $95 a bottle. Then we introduced a product called Starward Twofold which is a double grain whisky, a blend of single malt and wheat whisky which is Australian made and sourced. We blend the two together in a similar way you would blend a Shiraz and Cabernet. Blending malt and wheat together gives a really lovely soft blend. That sells for $65 in Australia. We have another single malt called Starward Solera and that is distilled at Port Melbourne and is matured from start to finish in used Apera barrels (Australian sherry) giving a different flavour and taste to the whisky. We can never make enough. We have a range of limited releases that have come out over the years. We released one last Christmas called Starward Tawny that was a massive success for us. It was our Single Malt aged in fortified barrels that gave a rich, fruity and indulgent taste, think Christmas cake whisky. That was released in the 500 ml bottle at 48% ABV and sold at $119 a bottle. We are always experimenting at the distillery with different barrels from different sources and producers that we use to create different flavours and we have some exciting new whiskies in the pipeline coming out to market for later this year - at least two.

Starward is particularly unique in that it has embraced Melbourne’s climate as the story behind the style. Can you elaborate?

Our founder, David Vitale, thought Melbourne would be a really interesting place to make whisky when he came up with the idea over ten years ago. Part of the idea was making a uniquely Australian expression of whisky through the sourcing of the barley and the grain to the barrel maturation and the climate or the terroir. A lot of the world’s best whiskies are matured in stable and often cool climates

such as Scotland, it might be ten degrees all year around and doesn’t move much. He wanted to go the other way. In Melbourne it can be 40 degrees one day and 15 the next so he wanted to use that weather variability and understand what that does to the maturation. After making whisky now for over ten years we are different there is a unique character coming out of the whisky through the combination of the barrel maturation and the weather. We think it has a real impact on flavour, colour and texture. It is also really versatile. You can drink it so many different ways because it is a completely different proposition from a Scotch or a bourbon.

It also taps into the local wine industry to create a new product in a beautiful industry symbiosis. Can you tell us about that?

I joke about it but we are like a big recycler. We are taking the barrels from the wineries once they are finished with them. Rather than them going to the tip or the flower shops we take them and recondition them and use them for our ageing process. We are not the only people in the world doing this but we are one of few and we are the only one doing it with Australian wine barrels.

Do you just get your barrels from Victoria?

No we get our barrels from South Australia, New South Wales and some from Western Australia as well. We get all different types. We get American oak and French oak and barrels that were used for Shiraz and barrels that were used for Cabernet or for Pinot Noir. We have different sizes, different ages, barrels that have been charred and haven’t been. The barrel diversity and selection is important for us.

Diageo invested in Starward four years ago through Distill Ventures. What path has that injection put the business on and what changes to the business have occurred as a result of this partnership?

I think Distill and Diageo have been fantastic for Starward. It has given us an access to two things; one is capital, obviously as a distillery and a business we are investing in inventory to sell in the future. There is more investment up front than there is revenue so the ability to lean on that for capital and keep the business operating in a sustainable way is one thing. The second thing is capability. The knowledge and insight that both Distill and Diageo have in the world of spirits, what is going on globally and how to think about building a craft brand has been an amazing help that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access. An example would be how to think about carbon, water, our footprint, those sort of things that a small business would not normally have the expertise available; we have access to that. It has been very helpful and of course they can open doors for us. In terms of our export expansion they were helpful in identifying which markets made

sense but we are not part of the Diageo sales force; we distribute independently. In Australia that distributor is SouthTrade.

You say you joined Starward because of its innovative and unique strategy – can you elaborate on that?

The whisky is fantastic. I’m a fan of the product and that helps. It is a whisky unshackled by convention and does things the Australian way, brave and bold. It’s modern; it’s not a distillery that has been around for hundreds of years. The connection with wine and the idea that we want to make a versatile and delicious whisky that you can drink however you want meant to me it could be much more than other whisky brands. An example was a campaign we ran over Christmas promoting - a new spin on gin – drink Starward Two Fold and Tonic. It is really unexpected but it’s refreshing and delicious. Yes we are a whisky but you don’t have to just drink whisky over ice. We are edgy and targeting a younger consumer.

The distillery is currently undergoing a major renovation. Can you give us more insight into what we can expect with the updated premises?

We are in the midst of that project at the moment. We are upgrading the capacity of the distillery. Effectively it is going to double the capacity with fantastic new equipment, automation, a mezzanine floor where all the stills will now be raised so as a visitor

experience you will now be able to go on a tour around and see the distils from the top. We are going to have a new masterclass room as a lot of our visitors come to be educated on whisky which is fantastic. Effectively it’s to make more whisky for the future. What we are making now will not be sold for four to five years. The new distillery should be up and running from May or June this year and that will give us so much more potential for the future. We have a distillery bar – like a cellar door. We have a great bartending team at the bar and there is always new and interesting drinks being created there.

What about tourism? Are you tapping into becoming part of the Melbourne cultural scene of food, coffee and wine?

I think it’s an area where we can be a lot more active and could be more so in the future. The business up until this point has

been focused on making really good whisky and keeping supply up with demand. I think as we turn now to be more focused on building the brand and giving consumers what they want and driving people to our distillery to visit, we can be more active. If you are in Melbourne and you are looking for something interesting to do and you don’t want to go to Mornington or Healesville then we are one kilometre from the city. We will be doing a lot more of that and putting on interesting events at the distillery and keeping it fresh.

We think we are the biggest urban CBD distiller in the world. We don’t know for sure but it depends on your definition of a CBD. Most distillers are in regional areas because they are sourcing their materials from farms. Once we double our capacity we could be the biggest urban distillery in the world. It’s hard to prove but it’s an angle and it fits with the feel and culture of Melbourne’s CBD; cool and progressive. It’s very different from what people expect when they come here. We are trying to tap into that with our brand and positioning.

How many barrels and litres of whisky does the Starward warehouse have now? Four years ago that figure was 2500 barrels and 350,000 litres of whisky.

We are doubling the capacity that we have at the moment. It has been a big investment and it is good to have an investment into a small sized business in Melbourne that is creating employment. We have grown our workforce substantially over the past two years and that is going to continue. We have our distillery and bar in Port Melbourne and we have a second site for maturation as well. It won’t be long before we have a third. We are growing.