Starka is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented rye mash. Traditionally Starka is made from natural (up to 2 distillations, no rectification) rye spirit and aged in oak barrels with small additions of linden-tree and apple-tree leaves. The methods of production are similar to those used in making whisky. Sold in various grades, the most notable difference between them is the length of the aging period, varying from 3 to over 50 years, and the natural colour which is obtained from the reaction between the alcohol and the oak barrel, not from the additives.