Who doesn’t love a crafty collaboration? And when it’s made up of such Australian distilling greats as Starwards and Adelaide Hills, then you know you really can’t go wrong.
The second release in Starward’s bottled cocktail series, the Red Manhattan is a classic Manhattan cocktail reimagined with an Australian twist that is deliciously bold and bursting with flavour.
A distillery batched cocktail; Red Manhattan blends Starward single grain whisky matured in Australian red wine barrels and bespoke red wine vermouth infused with native botanicals, from Australian craft spirits producer Adelaide Hills Distillery and bitters.
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Sam Slaney, Starward’s Head Distiller, says, “It’s such an exciting time to be in the Australian craft spirits category – there is so much opportunity for creativity and to challenge tradition.
Starward and Adelaide Hills Distillery are both innovative and award-winning local craft spirit producers that are passionate about creating distinctly Australian flavours.
Starward whisky is uniquely matured in Australian red wine barrels, and Adelaide Hills Distillery sources the very best of Australian native produce and South Australian red wine for its red vermouth.
The result of this collaboration is the Red Manhattan, a one-of-a-kind bottled cocktail that is bright, balanced and full of flavour.
“IT’S SUCH AN EXCITING TIME TO BE IN THE AUSTRALIAN CRAFT SPIRITS CATEGORY – THERE IS SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY FOR CREATIVITY AND TO CHALLENGE TRADITION.”
Sacha La Forgia, Adelaide Hills Distillery founder, says, “At Adelaide Hills Distillery, we produce small-batch spirits that celebrate the abundance of quality, local ingredients we have at our fingertips and represent our core values of being mindfully sourced and sustainably made.
Our team is excited to partner with Starward to create the Red Manhattan, crafting a remarkable red wine vermouth, infused with native botanicals, that blends brilliantly with Starward’s single grain whisky.”
Born and bred in Melbourne, Starward continues to push the boundaries of Australian whisky, marrying old world tradition with modern techniques such as solely maturing whisky in Australian red wine barrels and pursuing creative drink collaborations with other dynamic local craft spirit producers.
With an earthy red colour and an aroma of Christmas spices, dried fruits and subtle grain sweetness, the Red Manhattan captures the tastes of Dark stone fruits, baking spices and notes of vanilla and juicy cherries. All of this results in a bright, balanced and herbaceous drink with a medium finish.
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Available in 500ml, the Red Manhattan should be kept chilled in the fridge with no need to stir. And all you need to do is pour 70ml into a coupe glass and garnished with a cherry or red grape.
It is available now from the Starward distillery and starward.com.au, with availability in national retailers coming soon
