American Whiskey Review #102: Starlight Cigar Batch /r/Bourbon Pick

Image credit: /u/t8ke

Distillery: Starlight.

Region: Indiana.

Age: 4.5 Years.

Cask Type: Finished in Brazilian Amburana Barrels.

ABV: 56.2%.

Color: 1.6, Mahogany, Henna Notes.

This is the 2nd installment of this years’ Christmas Countdown. You can see the 2020 edition here and 2019 edition here.

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Nose: Oh man this nose is fun. It’s baked delights in gingerbread and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. There’s an aromatic note that I cannot place for the life of me. It kind of smells like menthol but it most certainly is not menthol.

Palate: It tastes absolutely like Korean cinnamon punch (수정과/sujeonggwa). Cinnamon, candied ginger, sugar, and a bit of nuttiness comes through. It’s hot at full strength and a touch astringent. With some water, the sweetness dies out which leaves just the nuts and cinnamon. There’s a bit of earthiness that comes along with it as well.

Finish: It’s quite long. Cinnamon and roasted nuts are the main notes here in the form of walnuts and chestnuts.

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Conclusion: I’ve not had any Starlight but I’ve heard a lot of good things from the guys that frequent the /r/bourbon discord. This cigar batch pick really intrigued me given the barrel finish being in Brazilian Amburana, definitely not something you see every day. The end result? It’s quite a fun whiskey they’ve put out here. The nose is an absolute delight, taking me back to my childhood with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. The palate reminds me oh so much of cinnamon punch and those notes continue on to the finish. It is a touch astringent and it didn’t seem to hold to water as well as I would’ve hoped, which puts it in the quite enjoyable category for me overall.

Final Score: 77.

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American Whiskey Review #102, Bourbon Review #74, Whisky Network Review #487

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.