Starward Whisky celebrates Corio Distillery’s colourful legacy with small-batch

A recently launched award-winning whisky seeks to revive the colourful legacy of Geelong’s notorious Corio Distillery.

Sam Slaney with a bottle of Starward Whisky’s Corio Cask Small Batch next to an old still, once from Corio Distillery now located at Stead Park. Picture: Mark Wilson

The colourful past of the infamous Corio Distillery – where the alcohol was once likened to petrol – has found new life in an international award-winning whisky.

The distillery, which closed in 1989 after 60 years of operation, had developed a memorable – and somewhat mixed – reputation.

A common joke was to refer to Corio Whisky as COR-10, in reference to a petrol producer of the day, Commonwealth Oil Refinery, or COR.

But that wasn’t always the case.
Sam Slaney grew up in Geelong and knew of the distillery.

Now, as the production director at award-winning Starward Distillery in Port Melbourne, he’s honouring the hometown legacy.

Picture: Mark Wilson

“We’re a modern whisky distillery and we’ve always looked forward, but we like to pay respects to whisky producers that have come before us,” Mr Slaney said.

“I always knew the distillery, I knew the building; it was always a mythical thing for me.”

This week Starward released small-batch Corio Cask, a whisky “matured in barrels from the illustrious Corio Distillery”.

Only 887 bottles were made in the batch, in what barrels Starward could get its hands on.

The whisky is a “homage” to one of the “giants” of the industry, who “forged the pathway for the Australian whisky industry”.

The spirit already won a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in April.

Corio Distillery also won awards in its early years, Mr Slaney said.

“When they started in the ‘20s, the distillery was actually making really good quality whisky and it was winning awards,” he said.

The site of the old Corio whisky distillery in 2021. Picture: Mark Wilson

The distillery was opened in March 1929 but whisky didn’t hit the shelves for several years as it rested in casks to gain flavour.

Those casks are among those used by Starward to make Corio Cask, however finding barrels wasn’t easy.

A worker stands by whisky stills at the Corio Distillery, like the one in Stead Park, in 1949.

“You’ve got to be looking, they’d never be advertised,” Mr Slaney said.

“You have to know where to look and have the right contacts.

“When you see them, grab them … they’re hidden away in dusty warehouses and no one really knows about them.”

Starward distillery is known for barrel whisky, with many of its spirits maturing in wine casks.

By the mid-20th century, Corio Whisky was a staple and was even a favourite of Victoria’s longest-serving premier, Sir Henry Bolte.

But as mass production ramped up the company’s premium reputation began to slide.

“Over time, especially in the later years, volume and price point became more critical, rather than the quality of the product,” Mr Slaney said.

“I think it’s unfortunate people’s memory of Corio isn’t a fantastic one, but they did make some awesome product.”

In 1960, Australia removed tariffs on imported whisky, and by the 1980s many Australian distilleries had closed.

In 1989 the Corio Distillery joined them.

Originally published as Starward Whisky celebrates Corio Distillery’s colourful legacy with small-batch