Starlight Distillery “The Joy Of Starlight, Ep. 2” Four Grain Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey The Prime Barrel Pick #19

Starlight Distillery is located at Huber’s Orchard, Winery & Vineyards in Starlight, Indiana. Initially, they planned to be a brand distillery with the idea forming in the mid-’90s. As the story goes, they were inspired by their ancestors, who once distilled fine brandies in this area in the early 1800s. On December 7th, 2004, they released their first brandy. Starlight has since transitioned into whiskey, distilled in Huber’s 80-gallon copper pot still from Germany and then transferred to 53 gallon charred, American White Oak barrels. While their whiskeys tend to be on the younger side, don’t let the age fool you. This is some of the best single barrel sub-5-year-old whiskey we’ve tasted.

Their straight bourbon is hard to dislike, containing a large mix of spice, fruitiness, and earthy notes. Each barrel is different, but we were blown away by the barrel that eventually became the “The Joy Of Starlight, Ep. 2” selection. Amazingly, it was the first barrel we tried (we selected the distillery in the summer of 2021), and we must have gone through at least six other barrels. We kept coming back to the very first one, as it was easily the tastiest one. The barrel was bottled at 112.6 Proof, which makes it equally great as a neat sipper or with a splash of water. Mashbill is 51% Corn / 20% Rye / 20% Malted Barley / 9% Wheat, and the barrel itself is a 2-year air-dry wood from the Canton Cooperage. Barrels from Canton Cooperage are expensive, because of the air-dry method they use and because of their ability to produce more fruit-forward tasting whiskeys. Here’s are our tasting notes:

• Nose: bing cherries, cherry cola, dark chocolate, cardamom, cinnamon stick, burnt sugar, grapefruit pith
• Palate: new oak, baking spice, black currants, grapefruit pith, dill
• Finish: green peppercorn and grapefruit pith

This is the first in a duo of Starlight selections we made in 2021 and launched simultaneously in 2022. The sticker’s Bob Ross theme was a winner of a contest we ran and was suggested by one of our members (for which said member received a free bottle!). We think it turned out great – let us know what you think of it!

The charity both Starlight selections will support is Norton’s Children Hospital Foundation. It is the philanthropic arm for Norton Children’s pediatric facilities and services. The foundation raises funds exclusively for Norton Children’s Hospital, Kentucky’s only full-service, the free-standing hospital created “Just for Kids”; Norton Children’s Medical Center; and pediatric services at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital to support programs, equipment, new technologies, clinical research, child advocacy and health education for patients, families, medical staff and the community