A DISTILLERY in Melbourne is pioneering a fusion of Scotch and Australian whisky.

Called The Brisbane, in honour of the Scot who founded the Australian city, it is the fourth international blend to come from the Starward Distillery.

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Made by the team of Fusion Whisky and Adelphi, it is the first whisky to use new Blockchain technology where QR labels take customers to a portal that shows them the complete history of the dram and its production.

The whisky was launched at the Whisky and Drams Festival in Australia, which is headed by Ben Baranow.

The Brisbane launch was headed by Alex Bruce of Fife-based Adelphi and David Vitale of Starward Distillery, which supplied the Australian whisky for the blend. Acclaimed whisky writers Dave Broom and Charles MacLean were also there to sample the pioneering dram.

“We believe never before has someone taken Scotch and paired it with Australian whisky to create something as wonderfully unique and compelling as The Brisbane,” said Bruce, Adelphi’s managing director.

As well as the five-year-old Australian whisky, The Brisbane was also made with Scotch from Glen Garioch and Glen Grant distilleries.

Bruce added: “This ground-breaking whisky follows closely on from our Winter Queen whisky, which marries Scotch with Dutch whisky, and our E&K, which blended Scotch and Indian whisky. With The Brisbane, we’re very proud to be honouring another great Scot, and one who left a lasting legacy in Australia.”

Fusion Whisky said it was also following Adelphi’s pioneering work with the use of Blockchain technology to demonstrate The Brisbane’s provenance and complex production history. Thomas Brisbane was a great champion of science, so it’s entirely appropriate we pioneer this new technology with a whisky made in his honour; the first whisky in the world to do so.”

Kieran Kelly of partners arc-net, who provided the Blockchain platform and support, said: “Our aim is to establish the global standard in product and supply-chain transparency, authentication and security, providing the consumer with 100 per cent traceability, provenance and product authenticity. The arc-net platform offers both brand and product protection and provides brands with a voice on the global stage. All the team at arc-net are very proud to be the first company to use Blockchain technology with a whisky, especially one that is itself pioneering and honours a great champion of science.”

Fusion Whisky said the idea to create a series of international blended whiskies came from the global success of its Glover brand, which was a blend of Scotch and rare Japanese whisky, with bottles of the 22 year old variant selling for more than £1000. Each of the whiskies celebrated a pioneering Scot who made a positive impact in the partner country.