David Vitalie, Starward

MEET: DAVID VITALE,

FOUNDER OF STARWARD WHISKY

David Vitale established Starward Whisky in 2004 under a simple premise – whisky doesn’t need to be complicated and inaccessible. He saw a gap in the market for young, great tasting whisky at an approachable price point, and turned his hobby brewing skills towards making this vision a reality. The proof is in the pudding, as Starward has been lauded both in Australia and abroad, and now produces 250,000 litres per annum. explore WHISKY caught up with David recently to find out how he got started in the industry, why he believes Australian whisky is unique and what he sees for the future of the category.

explore WHISKY: Your background isn’t in the WHISKY industry. What inspired you to create Starward whisky and how have you come to this point?

David Vitale: My background is actually in hobby home brewing. That was my weekend passion. I used to own an eLearning business, delivering professional development to financial advisors, and developed a bit of a passion for making stuff at home. I thought, when I sold the eLearning business, that I would perhaps set up a micro-brewery but, unfortunately, good beer doesn’t travel well – as we all know. So, I shelved that idea and went back into consulting before realising that, indeed, single malt whiskies have a lot in common with craft beers, in terms of that provenance of place and that story. So, once I realised that single malts were basically just distilled beers, I applied all of that learning and passion I had for brewing into whiskies, which travel a whole heap better around the world. The origin was really thinking about whisky from a craft beer perspective.

eW: To your knowledge, at this stage were there other distilleries in Australia attacking whisky production from this perspective, or did Starward lead the way?

DV: I actually discovered whisky at the Lark Distillery. Up until then, my understanding of whiskies was very limited. Chivas Regal was what we gave our accountant as a gift at Christmas, and Johnnie Walker Red was what my Greek friend’s Dad drank when they were playing cards.

That was my world of whisky. It was almost by accident that I went into the Lark Distillery and saw all these single malts on the back bar. That was the moment. It was like a light switched on and I went, “Wow, I can’t believe the similarities (between this and craft beer production).” Bill Lark at Lark Distillery and Patrick Maguire at Sullivan’s Cove were already in the market, selling amazing whisky that was starting to get attention around the world. So, I always knew we could make great whisky in Australia. It was about saying, “How do we get it out of the special occasion cabinet into the sharing cabinet?” I think this is something Starward has led the way on. It wouldn’t be necessarily making great Australian whisky – we’ve been doing that for a long time. It’s probably us being very passionate about moving whisky into the sharing cabinet and making it more accessible.

eW: What about Starward makes it uniquely Australian?

DV: It’s pretty straightforward: it’s Australian whisky in Australian wine barrels. You can’t be any more clearly Australian than that. All of the ingredients that we use for Starward are, basically, a day’s drive away from the distillery. If you compare that to, say, Scotch whisky, they source their barrels from Spain, and Portugal and America, and barley is grown all throughout Scotland and Europe. So, from our point of view, Starward is more Australian than Scotch is Scottish. It’s distinctly Australian because we’re using those red wine barrels, and very few distilleries around the world mature their whisky from the day it’s made in red wine casks.

eW: What is your ongoing vision for Starward?

DV: To me it’s mainly to be the approachable, affordable Australian whisky that you can share with friends. We’re not too concerned if it’s used in a cocktail or not – we’re not precious about how it is used. I’m really excited about the opportunity for us to broaden the audience of whisky, because it is more approachable and carries those wine flavours, which gives it something different and exciting in comparison to the whiskies that come through from the Old World. I think for us, it’s about taking Starward to the world and making sure every self-respecting back bar has a bottle of it on the shelf to talk about why Australian whisky is interesting.

eW: What do you think sets Australian whisky apart from the Old World whiskies?

DV: We’ve been talking about this a lot, actually. Generally, in terms of, ‘Why is Australian whisky so interesting?’ compared to bourbon and Scotch. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that all of Australia’s brands were created by living people who have a story to tell about why they’ve gone down this journey. We all make great whisky, and so does the Old World, so it’s not quality. You’re not going to live long on a shelf if you don’t have quality, and that’s no different between Old and New World. It’s really about the ability to engage the consumer with a really interesting story about why you’re making whisky. Then the second part, I think, is obviously flavour. All of the whiskies that we make in Australia are flavour forward, and celebrate the place that they’re made.

eW: What advice would you give to a consumer who is looking to approach the whisky category, but doesn’t know where to begin?

DV: This is a bit self-serving, but one of the reasons I started the distillery was to be that first rung on the ladder of Australian whiskies. I don’t think I’d be speaking out of line to say that even $90AUD, which is what Starward costs, is a lot of money for a whisky. I think what you want to do is actually go to a bar, perhaps talk to bartenders that have got a range of Australian whiskies and explore the category through flights. Use those bartenders as a fountain of knowledge that can help you navigate what flavours you like and don’t like. The challenge for Australian whisky, really, is the availability of stock. The hard part is you might like a whisky that isn’t necessarily available anymore, and so we always strive to be as consistent and accessible as possible.

eW: As a dynamic industry, whisky is always looking ahead. What do you see as the future of Australian whisky?

DV: I think the future is really bright. I’m confident that between the likes of the Tasmanian distilleries, Limeburners on the west coast, Archie Rose in Sydney and ourselves, that there’s the potential for Australian whisky to be the next Japanese whisky.

eW: For any readers looking to potentially explore their own craft ventures, what would be your advice?

DV: Be patient. But more importantly, you need to have real clarity about what the vision for the business is and why you’re doing it. Because there will be moments through the whole process where it’s going to be really tough. We’ve gone through some pretty white-knuckled moments in our history, and what really kept the team going through those periods of time was a real clear vision and purpose for the brand and the whisky. It serves as your North Star, without being clichéd. The guiding principles of what you’re trying to do will come back and help you get through those difficult times.

eW: What’s new on the horizon for Starward? Are there any new releases or events coming up?

DV: We’ve just launched our first bottled cocktail, which is really an opportunity to get whisky on the dinner table and shared with friends, and we’re really excited about that. They’re limited releases. This is the first in a series of cocktails we’re going to launch, so in the New Year, we’ll have a new one coming out which is pretty exciting. The bottled cocktail is a pretty important part of that whole idea of making whisky more approachable and accessible.