If
it is distilled in Indiana, it must be MGP, right? Not so fast.
Indiana
has plenty of distilleries unaffiliated with the biggest boy on the block. There
are at least 47 of them, and the state even has its own distillery trail! One
of the more popular is Starlight
Distillery in Borden.
In
1843, German immigrant Simon
Huber arrived in Starlight, Indiana. The
region was already known as a haven for brandy making and wineries. Simon founded
his winery, and ever since, his descendants have turned his land into the
largest fruit-growing farm in all of Indiana.
In
2019, Carl T. Huber and his wife, Marcella, worked with state legislators to
create the Farm Brandy
Distillation permit, allowing them and other farms
in the area to produce brandy, and Starlight Distillery became a reality. And,
after working with legislators again in 2013, it became legal to distill
spirits from grain, allowing the Hubers to distill whiskeys and other spirits.
Everything
at Starlight is done on-premises. Starlight uses a sweet mash, meaning the
yeast starts fresh every time, without carrying over anything from the previous
batch. It provides less consistency batch-to-batch than a sour mash would.
Fermentation takes between five and six days.
Starlight
uses two stills: a Kothe 80-gallon copper pot still and a Vendome
500-gallon copper pot still. Once distilled, the newmake is filled into
53-gallon charred-oak barrels and aged in their rackhouse.
On
a side note, Borden is just north of the Ohio River, so if you hit up Kentucky,
you should stop by. It is a gorgeous, family-friendly campus with plenty for
everyone to do, whiskeylover or otherwise.
Today
is about both Starlight and Club
Liquor in Menasha, Wisconsin. Located at 234
Main Street, the store doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you
walk through the door, you realize that you're in a serious wine and spirits shop.
A
friend of mine, Sean
Wipfli (formerly of Neimuth's Southside Market in Appleton), is now the Chief Barrel Picking
Officer for Club Liquor. Sean and I have done a handful of barrel picks together
over the years, and we have similar palates.
A
pair of Club Liquor's newest picks is from Starlight: A Bourbon finished in a Rum
Cask, and another Bourbon finished in a Grape Brandy barrel. The distillery
uses both a 3-grain (60% corn, 20% rye, and 20% malted barley) and 4-grain (51%
corn, 20% rye, 20% malted barley, and 9% wheat) mashbill for its Bourbons; Sean
informed me that he's unsure which was used for these picks because he didn't actually pick these - they were done before he got to Club Liquor.
Despite
my friendship with Sean, he is aware that when he asks me to review something, he gets no free passes
and, yes, I've panned an occasional whiskey he's sent me. So, let's
#DrinkCurious and get on with it.
Carl T.
Huber Single Barrel Bourbon Finished in Grape Brandy Barrels "The Grape
Escape"
- Whiskey Type: Bourbon
- Distiller: Starlight Distillery
- Age: 4 years
- Mashbill: Undisclosed
- Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels, then finished in 90-gallon, French oak, former grape brandy barrels
- Alcohol Content: 57.6% ABV (115.2°)
- Price per 750mL: $44.99
- Barrel #22-2555-2
"Starlight Distillery's Brandy is made from our finest estate-grown grapes. We keep to old world tradition by aging the brandy in new and used 90-gallon French oak barrels for a minimum of 4 years. This adds rich structure and complexity to compliment the bold fruit bursting out of each glass." – Starlight Distillery
Appearance: I used
a Glencairn glass to explore this whiskey neat. The golden-amber liquid formed
a thin, jagged rim with thick, compacted tears.
Nose: I waited
about 15 minutes before delving into the sniffing session. The aroma included
vanilla, caramel, and the slightest hint of brandy. I gave it another five
minutes. The brandy note didn't intensify; however, I could detect something fruity.
I couldn't, however, tell you if it was grapes or something else. When I pulled
the air into my mouth, there was thick caramel.
Palate: On the
first sip, I encountered a blast of freshly cracked black pepper. The Bourbon's
texture was silky and slightly airy. The front of my palate, I first
encountered the warmth of the brandy, along with caramel and vanilla—the middle
featured leather, tobacco, and clove. The back included black pepper, bold oak,
and rye spice.
Finish: The
Grape Escape is a spice bomb, and even with the grape brandy finish, I'll go
out on a limb and suggest Starlight's 4-grain mashbill was used. The mouthfeel also
suggested a wheat component. Black pepper, oak spice, and tobacco were present,
and caramel attempted to tame them (and failed). The duration ran 1:59, which I'd
classify as long.
Bottle, Bar, or Bust: I wrongly
assumed the brandy influence would be stronger. I commend Starlight for preventing
that from happening. The Bourbon dominated; the brandy was more complementary,
which really makes for a nice relationship. For $45.00, this is a solid pour
and worth my Bottle rating.
◊◊◊◊◊
Carl T. Huber
Single Barrel Bourbon Finished in Rum Barrels "Rhum Bourboncourt"
- Whiskey Type: Bourbon
- Distiller: Starlight Distillery
- Age: 5 years
- Mashbill: Undisclosed
- Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels, then finished in former rum barrels
- Alcohol Content: 56.65% ABV (113.3°)
- Price per 750mL: $63.99
- Barrel #22-2397-1
"This rum is a blend of two different molasses. Light and dark Caribbean molasses bring distinctively different notes after distillation. This rum was double distilled on our 500 gallon copper pot still. Nothing artificial. It is light bodied, slightly sweet and floral." – Starlight Distillery
Appearance: A neat
pour in my Glencairn glass revealed a Bourbon with a honey coloring. A thinner
rim jettisoned thick, tightly-packed, fast tears.
Nose: I
waited 15 minutes before bringing the glass beneath my nostrils and inhaling
the vapor. I found toasted coconut, bananas, vanilla, and oak. When I took the
air through my lips, I discovered rich molasses. The rum influence seemed strong.
Palate: The
mouthfeel was dense and creamy, with a strong, smoky palate shock. The second
sip suggested more smoke and a hint of salted caramel on the front of my
palate. I tasted unfiltered honey, ripe plums, and very dark chocolate on my
mid-palate, with French oak, clove, and allspice on the back palate.
Finish: Bold
smoke, French oak, clove, and salted caramel remained, with the smoke ramping
up as time elapsed. It drank nowhere near its stated proof; it was well below
that number. The finish seemed to last forever; per my stopwatch, it was 2:50, which
is exceedingly long.
Bottle, Bar, or Bust: I have
no idea what sort of rum cask Starlight used. Rhum Bourboncourt is very smoky
and could easily be mistaken for being peated, so much so that if I went into
this completely blind, I would have been fooled. While I love peat, many
Bourbon drinkers are less enthusiastic about it. My rating doesn't reflect the nose,
the taste, or even how fascinating I found it; it represents what average
Bourbon drinkers would expect, and Rhum Bourboncourt deviates way beyond that. That's
why my Bar rating seems appropriate.
◊◊◊◊◊
Final Thoughts: While I've
been to Starlight and sampled several of its spirits, Rum and Grape Brandy were
not among them. This entire adventure was on the blind side.
At the time I published
this review, both The Grape Escape and Rhum Bourboncourt were still available. How
would I rank them?
Both were tasty, but I preferred
The Grape Escape simply because it was far more Bourbonesque than Rhum
Bourboncourt. To be blunt, the latter lost most of the base spirit. That didn't
make it less interesting; just something that would likely appeal more to Islay
Scotch drinkers than Bourbon fans. Cheers!
My Simple, Easy-to-Understand
Rating System
- Bottle = Buy It
- Bar = Try It
- Bust = Leave It
Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit,
but begs you to do so responsibly.
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