Pinhook Collaboration Series Bourbon Whiskey Jordan Salcito Edition No. 3

Pinhook Collaboration Series Edition No. 3 is not a Kentucky bourbon at all — it is a cask strength Australian single malt whisky: 57.4% ABV (114.8 proof), 750mL, made by Starward in Melbourne from 100% malted barley, double-distilled in copper pot stills, and blended from 28 red wine barrels. For this third edition of the Collaboration Series, sommelier Jordan Salcito worked with Pinhook co-founder and master blender Sean Josephs to marry four of Starward's red-wine-cask styles, aged four to five years, into one non-chill filtered release, launched November 2024. Available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.

• ABV: 57.4% (114.8 proof), cask strength
• Size: 750mL
• Distillery: Starward, Melbourne, Australia
• Grain: 100% malted barley, double copper pot distilled
• Blend: 28 barrels across four Starward styles, all matured in red wine barrels
• Age: no age statement (components 4–5 years)
• Collaborator: Jordan Salcito, sommelier and founder of Drink RAMONA
• Review: 91 points, Whisky Advocate

A Sommelier Walks Into a Melbourne Distillery

Pinhook's Collaboration Series hands its blending chair to a figure from the drinks world: Edition No. 1 went to musician and wine entrepreneur André Hueston Mack, Edition No. 2 to brewmaster Garrett Oliver. For Edition No. 3, Jordan Salcito — a sommelier whose résumé runs through Daniel, Eleven Madison Park and Momofuku, and who founded the wine spritz brand Drink RAMONA — went to Melbourne and built a single malt the way a sommelier thinks: in components. Four Starward styles, every one of them raised in red wine barrels, were married across 28 casks — which is why this whisky reads less like a classic malt and more like a blend composed for the table.

Tasting Notes

Per Pinhook's release notes: poached pear, vanilla curd, cardamom and light cedar on the nose; raspberries, wild honey, clove and graham cracker on the palate — bright red fruit from the wine casks over a soft cereal base, at full cask strength.

How to Enjoy

Start neat, then add a splash of water — at 114.8 proof it opens considerably. Its wine-cask fruit also makes it a natural highball whisky and a rich base for a whisky sour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Pinhook Collaboration Series Edition No. 3 a bourbon? No — despite the series name on the label, Edition No. 3 is an Australian single malt whisky made by Starward in Melbourne from 100% malted barley. (Edition No. 2 was a bourbon; each Collaboration Series edition is a different spirit and collaborator.)

Who is Jordan Salcito? A sommelier who worked at Daniel, Eleven Madison Park and Momofuku and founded Drink RAMONA in 2016. She blended this edition with Pinhook's Sean Josephs at Starward in Melbourne.

What casks were used for Edition No. 3? All 28 barrels in the blend were red wine barrels, covering four different Starward whisky styles aged four to five years, bottled at cask strength and non-chill filtered.

A bourbon series that globetrots to Melbourne — taste Edition No. 3 at Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA, in store or online.