Starlight Single Barrel Bourbons (3 distinct Single Barrels)

In the Spring of 2021 our tasting team conducted a virtual tour and tasting with Christian Huber, distiller from Starlight Distillery in Indiana. We were impressed by the single barrel samples we tasted and purchased a Single Barrel of Straight Bourbon. The selection is non-chill filtered and bottled at cask strength (120.6 proof). It is an amazing selection. The staves for the barrel on this selection were air dried for 3 years (allowing the tannins to slowly leech out), then toasted low at a 1-2 char level. After being in barrel for 4 years the resulting bourbon has savory aromas of crème brule, leading to notes of brown sugar, and dried fruit, despite the high proof the finish is full and mellow, with very little heat. This selection landed in store in late September and already has a good following.

In August on a trip to Louisville to select single barrels from several Kentucky Distilleries we accepted an invitation to visit Starlight in person. The facility is located over the river in Indiana, a short 25 minute drive from Louisville. The distillery is located on a 600 acre Family Farm that also includes vineyards, a winery, and Farm Market. The hospitality we received from the Huber family was amazing. We tasted in the one of the barrel warehouses and were not disappointed with the variety of choices or the quality of the whiskeys! After about 2 hours of tasting we narrowed our choices for our selection down to 4 barrels. We took a break to rest our pallets and took a motorized tour of the farm, where we picked Regular and Donut Peaches straight from the trees at their perfect ripeness. We returned to the warehouse and narrowed our choice down to 2 barrels. The barrels were very different and both amazing in there own right, so we selected both. The barrels we chose were first a Double Oaked selection and an Oloroso Barrel Finished.

The Double Oaked selection undergoes it regular maturation and then is transferred into an unused charred oak barrel to age an additional 6 months. This process provides intense oak notes, enhanced vanilla flavor, and mellowed rye spice. The Oloroso barrel finished selection undergoes it regular maturation and then is finished in a Spanish Oloroso Sherry barrel for over 8 months. The time in the sherry barrel provides notes of dried cherry and orange citrus that finish with a long supple finish.

The Selections we chose in August just recently arrived at the stores.

All 3 Barrel Selections will be available to taste and offered at 10% OFF on Black Friday, November 26th!

Simsbury: 1PM-4PM

New Britain: 5PM-8PM

Hope to see you all there.