A whisky pioneer turns to Adelaide Hills Distillery

Bottled cocktails are bang on trend right now, and whisky great David Vitale of Melbourne distillery Starward has teamed up with Sacha La Forgia from Adelaide Hills Distillery to create an Aussie twist on a cocktail classic.

From left: Starward founder David Vitale; Starward head distiller Sam Slaney and Adelaide Hills Distillery founder Sacha La Forgia

Bottled cocktails are bang on trend right now, and whisky great David Vitale of Melbourne distillery Starward has teamed up with Sacha La Forgia from Adelaide Hills Distillery to create an Aussie twist on a cocktail classic.

Dubbed the Red Manhattan, the distillery-batched cocktail is made with Starward single-grain whisky matured in Australian red wine barrels, which is crafted with South Australian red wine vermouth and infused with native botanicals and a dash of bitters.

Starward’s Red Manhattan

“At Adelaide Hills Distillery, we produce small-batch spirits that celebrate the abundance
of quality, local ingredients we have at our fingertips,” says Sacha.

Starward whisky is matured in red wine barrels and Adelaide Hills Distillery sources the very best of Australian native produce and South Australian red wine for its red vermouth.

Like a white wine, Red Manhattan should be kept chilled in the fridge (no need to stir with ice) then served as a 70ml pour in a coupe glass garnished with a cherry or red grape.

“Red Manhattan... is bright, balanced and full of flavour,” says Sam Slaney, Starward’s head distiller. “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 was named Best Australian Whisky Innovator at the 2018 World Whisky Awards.

Sacha La Forgia has also recently released Adelaide Hills Distillery’s Native Grain Whiskey. Limited to 141 bottles, the all-Australian whiskey is created using wattleseed.

“I was driven not to replicate a whiskey perfected by another country, but to research and develop a whiskey that was totally reflective of Australia both in its modern form and tens of thousands of years of history,” he says.