Review #: 559
Description: Starlight Bourbon Cigar Batch: r/Bourbon
Spirit: Bourbon
Background: This is a single barrel of bourbon selected by r/Bourbon from Starlight Distillery in Indiana. It carries a 4.5 year age statement but was finished in Brazilian Amburana cask for an undisclosed amount of time. I believe the term “cigar batch” comes from the idea that the Amburana cask imparts flavors that would pair very well with a cigar.
Distillery – Starlight
Bottler – Starlight
Brand – Starlight
Selection – r/Bourbon
ABV – 56.2%
Age – 4 Years
Nose – One of the weirdest noses on a whiskey I’ve smelled, a very intense menthol and chocolate smell, sweet and tobacco-y, sweet baked goods but also overloaded with cinnamon powder
Taste – Chocolate is strong and the menthol backs off slightly from that mint flavor, yellow cake with vanilla frosting, dry caramel
Finish – Almost like an artificially sweetened oak, butter, the corn of the bourbon starts to sneak in too, there’s like a sweet latte flavor that lingers
Score: I have to give it a 5
Would I buy a bottle? The amburana carries a bit of a premium. I’ve liked having a bottle, but might not get another. See below
Thoughts: This is by far the strangest bourbon, nay whiskey, I’ve ever had. The nose is so intense with the chocolate and menthol. It’s such a back and forth and blast of intensity to the senses it’s hard to make heads or tails of it. I’ve gone back and forth and really find it hard to articulate how I feel about it. I’ve even made cocktails with it and it makes a strangely enjoyable sour but just so different to what you expect. This has been my go to bottle for guests to try just because it shows the impact just the type of wood can provide. While I’ve had only a few cigars in my life, I can see this pair well and the cigar smokers I’ve given this to have strongly agreed. The novelty of how different it is honestly carries a lot of the value in it. I can’t think of anything but a complete middle ground rating to give it.