Review #: 426
Description: Starlight Port Cask Finish Single Barrel: r/Bourbon
Spirit: Bourbon
Background: Off the heels of the distillery selected single barrel of port finished bourbon, this was selected for r/Bourbon by t8ke. He mentions that this is a tawny port barrel that was selected amongst a set of samples that include ruby port casks, so clearly they are using a few different types for their bourbons. I don’t know how long it was finished for. It is a bit younger at 4.5 years, but a similar proof. This is barrel FB189-1.
Distillery – Starlight
Bottler – Starlight
Brand – Starlight
Selection – r/Bourbon
ABV – 53.4%
Age – 4 Years
Nose – Tobacco, dark fruit, brown sugar, cherry syrup, some savory spices (rye, basil), roasted caramel corn, spices and fruit kind of battle each other back and forth
Taste – Cherry syrup, caramel sauce, chocolate, grape jelly, has a good pop of fruit and is really rich but doesn’t feel super heavy
Finish – Dark fruit pops but also tobacco comes back in, dark chocolate, rich and creamy, controls the proof very well.
Score: 6
Would I buy a bottle? Yesl
Thoughts: Shows the same vein as the distillery bottling, but I think the previous one’s nose was a bit more complex but the finish on this bottle really feels more controlled. I love the richness that Starlight gets through with these bottles and both don’t feel like the wine influence is too overbearing. Really big fan and think Starlight is doing well with how their distillate takes to finishes.