Last month, we teamed up with Starward to bring BH readers a trio of cocktail recipes that celebrate the versatility of Two-Fold – the brand’s popular wine-cask-aged whisky, built on a recipe of Aussie wheat and single malt.
Recognised at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Two-Fold has been repeatedly lauded among dram enthusiasts for its “balance”, “fruity character” and value-per-dollar proposition. But how is this egalitarian bottle – modestly priced at $75 – as delicious sipped as it is in a spritz?
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The expression’s recent gold medal win prompted us to ask that exact question of Carlie Dyer, Starward’s very own Head Distiller & Blender.
The wine & spirits veteran (who has worked in the distillery since 2016) gets into the nuts & bolts of Two-Fold’s magic: talking us through its origins, the “crucial role” wood plays in flavour development, and the special oomph that wheat adds to single malt whisky.
Randy Lai: Carlie – just to refresh everybody’s memory – could you briefly explain the evolution and history of Two-Fold Wheat & Single Malt Whisky?
Carlie Dyer: Sure thing. We designed and produced Two-Fold with the goal of creating an incredibly approachable whisky. The first batch hit the market in 2018. From a slightly nerdier perspective [laughs], it’s also one of those whiskies that epitomises the inspiration we take at Starward from the local craft beer scene.
We use a brewer’s yeast to do the fermentation and – as I’m sure you’ve heard before – all of the wine barrels used for aging come from within “a day’s drive” of Port Melbourne.
RL: We’ll come back to barrels in a bit, but first – wheat. Traditionally, whiskies with a significant portion of this grain have been a popular subcategory in American distilling; but they’re starting to crop up all over the world. Including here in Australia.
In your role as both blender and distiller, what is it you think wheat adds to the classic Starward single malt recipe?
CD: So, wheat whisky is quite a delicate aromatic spirit in and of itself. We like to mature ours in American oak barrels – adding flavours of vanilla and coconut. The result is whisky that meshes really well with our signature single malt, which tends to be lightly bodied and fruit-driven.
The other thing to say is that, since we’ve been playing around with Two-Fold for six years now, in that time the proportions of malt and grain whisky have changed. At the moment, it’s sitting at about 60 percent malt to 40 percent wheat.
The latter really helps to ‘round’ Two-Fold out – so that it’s soft enough to drink neat, but with enough body and structure to make into cocktails.
RL: Compared to other signature Starward whiskies – Nova, for example – is there anything unique about Two-Fold you wished more drinkers knew about?
CD: At the time of its original release, I genuinely think Two-Fold was a groundbreaking product.
In 2018, there weren’t a lot of quality whiskies in the Australian market under $100. With Two-Fold, our emphasis on access and affordability also helped to change perceptions around the type of person who drinks whisky – something you see brands doing a lot more now.
RL: We’ve been circling around it for a bit, but what more can you tell us about the wine barrels used in the making of Two-Fold?
CD: So, the majority of our wine barrels come from partners in South Australia – and they’re a combination of French and American oak. Depending on the amount of char/toast on the wood, we can fill these barrels 1-2 times.
Compared to bourbon casks, wine barrels tend to be more expensive and much better coopered. That’s especially the case if they’re made of French oak.
Since the new-make spirit that will become Two-Fold has such a high ABV, we can pour it into a barrel that’s already been used for 6+ years and the flavours in that oak will still be extracted.
Also, a lot of the grain spirit we use is matured in American oak. This wood generally has a higher ‘toast’ content – rich in vanillin flavour compounds, along with the lactone needed to give our whisky its signature smoothness.
RL: One final question. In light of the success of ‘Honeycomb’, is there anywhere else that you and your team are thinking of taking the classic Two-Fold formula in future? Any other special ‘Projects’ releases you can tease for us?
CD: As your readers know, whisky is all about the long game. When we started the Two-Fold project some really, really cool barrels of grain whisky were set aside.
When we launched Panettone for Christmas 2024, a portion of spirit used in the final blend was 10 years old. So that gives a sense of what a future ‘Projects’ release, based on Two-Fold, might look like.
The great thing about this expression is that we can take it pretty much anywhere we want in future.
We’ve been experimenting with maturation in a range of different types of oak – so I’d definitely say we have a few interesting parcels for customers to look forward to.
This article is presented in partnership with Starward Whisky. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.
