Tasting notes

nose

Aged oak, leather, tobacco and caramel with a slight spice

palate

Seasoned oak and leather with clove, tobacco, honey and toffee, savory and oak-forward

finish

Long and slightly dry; seasoned oak, caramel, leather and tobacco, with caramelized brown sugar and baking spice

Mash bill

Corn, rye, malted barley and wheat, from two mash bills combined in a proportion that is not published. One bill is 60% corn, 20% rye and 20% malted barley; the other is 51% corn, 20% rye, 20% malted barley and 9% wheat. The Huber family grows the corn, including heirloom corn, and the rye and wheat on its own farm, and buys the malted barley locally. Both are sweet mashes, fermented seven days in closed-top stainless steel.

Why it's craft

The oldest whiskey Starlight has released is a blend of ten barrels that aged ten years on the Huber family farm, first in the original warehouse and then in Warehouse #2. The corn includes heirloom varieties grown on the estate. The bottle is limited to about 2,000 and bottled at cask strength. Starlight has belonged to the Huber family since Simon Huber settled the farm in 1843.