The Heart Cut #14 (and #15) takes us to Australia, to Starward Distillery in Melbourne.

The single cask the brand selected was aged in a fresh red wine barrique from the Barossa Valley and crafted from American oak. Most red wine casks used in whisky are emptied, dried, and shipped. Starward uses them fresh, giving the whisky that extra layer of vivid, vinous character.

Bottled at a bold 55%, it’s big on ripe red fruit, creamy oak, and all the chewy sweetness you’d expect from a Shiraz-soaked cask that hasn’t travelled far from grape to grain.