Nine Australian whiskies share the Victoria shelf this week, and the model that prices them keeps landing on the same verdict about every one: dearer than the company it keeps.
That company is a bottle's crowd, the ten whiskies the model rates nearest it on flavour, and the number that matters is the middle price of that crowd. When a bottle sits above its crowd it is asking more than the drams it most resembles. On this shelf, all six of the featured bottles do, from a nudge to more than double. The desk's middle price is $94, and the spread of what Victoria is charging runs from the low nineties up to the $152 Muscat Barrel.
Start with the bottle closest to fair, because it is the exception that frames the rest. Starward Nova is $94, about 19% over a crowd sitting near $79. Nova is the Melbourne distillery's calling card, matured in Australian red-wine barrels, and it tastes of it: jammy and fruited, apricot and berry over a sweet, rich base. A fifth above its crowd is a mild premium by this shelf's standards, and for a wine-cask single malt with this much going on, it is the easiest one here to justify.
1/A members' price on Starward Solera has just lapsed. It is back to its full $143 at Dan Murphy's this week, so a member now pays what everyone else does. Worth eyeing the cheaper bench-mate while the gap is open.
2/The engine's second-nearest match to the Solera, scored on make-up and worth, is its own stablemate: Starward Unexpeated, at $75. Same Melbourne distillery, same Australian single-malt idea, a shade over half the Solera's ticket.
3/That is about $68 between them. The value model ranks Unexpeated 2nd of the Solera's neighbours; the profile model is less sure and puts it further down. So read this as a worth-for-money call, not a they-taste-the-same one.
4/So, the Solera at $143 now the members' deal has gone, or the Unexpeated at $75 off the same bench? Both Dan Murphy's today. What is Starward going for near you?
Victoria's distillers have a thing for wine casks. Muscat barrels, apera casks, old fortified wood, rye laid down in charred new oak. This week you pay a toll on every one of them.
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morris Rutherglen Muscat Barrel Single Malt Australian Whisky | Victoria | $151.99 | observed | $115.00 | $82.47 | 28.3% | #6 of 9 | $5.98 | #7 of 8 | 0 |
| Morris Rutherglen Signature Single Malt Australian Whisky | Victoria | $96.99 | observed | $87.00 | $66.16 | 24.0% | #2 of 9 | — | — | 0 |
| STARWARD Solera Single Malt Australian Whisky | Victoria | $142.99 | observed | $142.99 | $91.65 | 35.9% | #9 of 9 | $6.02 | #8 of 8 | 1 |
| Starward (New) Old Fashioned Cocktail | Victoria | $63.99 | observed | $89.59 | $58.35 | 34.9% | #8 of 9 | $5.07 | #6 of 8 | 0 |
| Starward Nova Single Malt Australian Whisky | Victoria | $93.99 | observed | $93.99 | $70.03 | 25.5% | #4 of 9 | $4.15 | #4 of 8 | 0 |
| Starward Panettone Whisky | Victoria | $104.99 | observed | $104.99 | $69.19 | 34.1% | #7 of 9 | $4.75 | #5 of 8 | 0 |
| Starward Two-fold Double Grain Australian Whisky | Victoria | $73.99 | observed | $73.99 | $56.48 | 23.7% | #1 of 9 | $3.35 | #1 of 8 | 0 |
| The Gospel Solera Rye | Victoria | $89.99 | observed | $82.00 | $61.81 | 24.6% | #3 of 9 | $3.83 | #3 of 8 | 0 |
| The Gospel Straight Australian Rye Whisky | Victoria | $98.99 | observed | $98.99 | $71.01 | 28.3% | #5 of 9 | $3.70 | #2 of 8 | 0 |