Aged oak | Berry compote | Leather | Vanilla cream | Brown sugar | Baking spices | Faint bread crust

Light raspberry | Blackberry | Leather | Rye spice | Cinnamon stick | Baking spices | Aged dry oak | Faint tobacco

Vanilla powder | Leather | Rye spice | Heavy dried oak | Incredibly dry on the backend

Starlight Distillery is located on the grounds of the Huber estate. Housing Huber’s Orchard & Winery, according to the company, they “began farming back in 1843 when our ancestors settled in Starlight, IN, from Baden-Baden, Germany. Growing primarily fruit, our farm began to diversify in 1978 when we opened the doors of our winery.” Now on its 7th generation, Huber estate produces a variety of crops that are grown alongside the onsite distillery that produces an assortment of brandies and whiskeys.

Starlight Distillery began distilling bourbon in 2013, and in 2015, they laid down barrels for what would become this year’s 10 Year Bourbon release, marking the oldest bourbon the distillery has bottled to date for consumers. The bourbon is made up of an undisclosed three-grain mashbill that includes various heirloom corn varieties, along with Indiana rye. Composed of only eight barrels in total, the bourbon was aged in Seguin Moreau Icone barrels sourced from Napa Valley cooperage.

Having tasted Starlight's standard Carl T Huber's Bourbon at 4 years, I was excited to see what the company would do with their whiskeys when they had time on their side, and I wasn’t disappointed. This year’s release of Starlight Distillery 10 Year Bourbon reveals its extended time in the barrel slowly, with each layer of the sip revealing more and more time in the barrel.

The bourbon opens with a wonderful nose that displays aged oak along with a sweet berry compote, vanilla cream, brown sugar, and baking spices. The midpoint of the sip starts off with a light raspberry and blackberry combination before aged notes of leather, dry oak, and faint tobacco mingle with various spices. The end of the sip is most impacted by the bourbon's 10 years resting in oak, as it’s exceedingly dry to a fault, highlighting leather, rye spice, and heavy dried oak. Overall, this is a solid first double-digit aged bourbon release by Starlight Distillery. If the company can dial down the dryness in the finish and lower the price for future releases, bourbon fans are in for a treat in the years to come.