If you’re a whisky lover, plan your next vacation not to Scotland or Japan, but to Australia. Because Starward, a whisky-specialized distillery based in Melbourne, Australia, has won the award for the most awarded international distillery at the San Francisco World Spirit Competition (SFWSC) for the second time in three years. Yes, you read that right. Unlike Breaker Raygun, this Australian has consistently brought home gold.

Their medal haul at the event was impressive. They took home one bronze, two silvers, 13 golds and an impressive 13 double golds, with two of those making the shortlist for best in class. That’s 29 medals for those keeping count at home. Even more remarkable is that they all won in the whisky category. That’s a whole lot of fine drams.

Founded in 2010 in a maintenance hangar at Melbourne’s Essendon Airport, from day one Starward has challenged the conventional distillation and ageing norms that have governed the whisky industry for centuries. This is due to founder David Vitale’s past as a home brewer and his desire to produce fruitier whiskies that are highly drinkable. It’s worked, as Starward has been bringing home major awards almost from the moment they released their first bottlings in 2013.

“I initially thought Starward would be a craft brewery, but I quickly realised it would be impossible to ship beer around Australia and the rest of the world. Then I went to a distillery in Tasmania and knew what I wanted to do,” says Vitale. “As a home brewer, I loved the different flavours in my beers, but I knew that to be successful, I had to make whiskies that everyone could enjoy. I like a big, bold IPA, but if I only want one, then I need something that’s more drinkable. That’s how I think about our whiskies. I want to make whiskies with delicious flavours that leave you wanting more.”

Starward’s location also contributes to its success. The distillery borders the lush Yarra Valley wine region, which has produced stunningly powerful reds for decades, and only uses ingredients that are within a day’s drive of their facility. This means plenty of wheat and single malt are distilled in a traditional double boiler system. What really sets their whiskies apart is their cask aging.

Unlike most whiskey distilleries that focus on heavily charred barrels to age their liquids, Starward uses “very wet” barrels from the numerous wineries nearby. Most wine barrels are not charred, but have a medium to heavy roast inside. Starward takes empty wine barrels and pours their young whiskey into them within a day or two of being released by the winemakers. By ensuring that the residual wine from these barrels has not evaporated, they ensure that their whiskey is immediately immersed in a very different environment than most other whiskeys.

“When I started Starward, I wanted to show that you can make great whisky anywhere in the world, especially if you’re willing to push boundaries. It’s something we Australians are pretty good at; innovation is ingrained in our psyche from a young age. When you’re on the edge of the world, sometimes you have to adapt to survive,” says Vitale. “I liken our distillery to a band working together to create something great. We could have copied what others were doing and made a beautiful liquid, but that would have been like being a Rolling Stones cover band. I’m not interested in that. I love the Stones, but I want to make my own music/whisky. And that’s what we do.”

All of their whiskies are aged for a minimum of three years; this is often all they need due to Melbourne’s unique weather conditions. Due to the extreme changes in weather that can often occur in one day, the liquid in the cask is constantly moving. The distillery indicates this on their labels by stating the age in “Melbourne years”.

The taste of the resulting liquid can vary from barrel to barrel, as the different wines previously stored in the barrels and the whiskey react differently. Vitale says that each tasting makes them feel like they are opening a gift, as they don’t know what they will find. They can create extremely flavorful blends and unforgettable single-barrel bottlings from the wide range of liquids available.

Starward has steadily expanded its global distribution and is currently available online in most of the United States. It is also available in retail and over the counter in fourteen states. The distillery plans to steadily expand its reach in the United States, which is good considering how many medals it just took home. While many of the varieties they took home awards for are one-offs, you can purchase their signature Tow-Fold, Nova, and Solera whiskeys, as well as several other limited edition bottles, on their website.

Here are their medal winners.

Double Gold

· 100 Proof Australian Whisky

· Nova Australian Whisky

· Unconventional Australian whisky

· Yering Station x Pinot Noir Cask Australian Whiskey

· Australian whisky “Hungarian Oak”

· Vitalis Australian Whisky

· Australian whisky with sticky toffee apple

· Octave Barrels Australian Whisky

· Stout Cask Australian Whisky (Best in Class, Finalist)

· Single Barrel #684 Australian Whisky

· Tawny #2 Australian Whisky

· Single Barrel #8193 Australian Whisky

· Single Barrel #3278 Australian Whisky (Best in Class, Finalist)

Gold

· Solera

· TWC PX Cask Australian Whisky

· Double Australian Whisky 45 Proof

· Double Australian Whisky 40 Proof

· Chardonnay Cask Australian Whisky

· Australian whisky with Munich malt

· YOUR Honeycomb Australian Whiskey

· Australian Muscat Whisky

· Ginger Beer Cask #7 Australian Whisky

· Single Barrel #344 Australian Whisky

· The Australian whisky from barrels of the Corio Distillery

· TWC Cognac Cask Australian Whisky

· Australian whisky with a peated finish

Silver

· Australian single malt whisky at cask strength, matured in a former Lagavulin cask

· Single malt Australian whisky, matured in a former Lagavulin cask

Bronze

· Single Barrel #7598 Australian Whisky