High Coast Distillery was founded in 2010 in the Swedish hamlet of Sörviken. The location was formerly a box factory and then power station. The High Coast name only came about during an expansion and rebrand in 2018, however. The distillery is situated beside the Ångerman River and also sources water from the nearby Lake Bålsjön. The extremely wide swing in temperature throughout the year, from -30°F in the winter to 70°F in the summer (not accounting for wind chill), mean that the casking process is accelerated more than almost any place on earth. Master distiller Roger Melander has been spending the past decade and more crafting whiskies worthy of the location and the expanded portfolio now includes four core offerings and dozens of limited editions including the earliest batches. The High Coast Hav, Swedish for “sea”, should maybe considered their gateway offering, consisting of a lightly peated whisky with oak influence predominating.
Starward Nova
Starward distillery was founded in 2007 by David Vitale. Producing whiskies from the outset, Starward received investment from spirits conglomerate Diageo in 2015 via their Distilled Ventures program, which allowed the distillery to expand their facilities. Starward Nova is the brand’s signature offering, featuring malted barley fermented with brewer’s yeast. It then goes into a variety of casks from Australian wineries, namely shiraz, cabernet and pinot noir from the Yarra and Barossa vallies, where it remains for the entire maturation of approximately two years. Starward asserts the aging process is accelerated due to the area’s volatile climate.
Green Spot Chateau Montelena
The Spot series are a line of pot still Irish whiskies produced for Mitchell and Sons, wine merchants and whiskey bonders. Historically, barrels of whiskey were marked with a certain colored spot so they could be easily identified in the warehouses as being of a certain intended age. Being wine merchants, Mitchell and Sons had access to used wine casks and the Green Spot Chateau Montelena is a return to finishing form for the Spot line. The regular Green Spot, cornerstone of the line, was aged for between 7 and 10 years, with further finishing for a year in ex-Zinfandel casks from the famed Chateau Montelena winery in Napa Valley, California.