Light orange rind | Rye spice | Spiced vanilla | Fresh oak | Baking spice | Dose of ethanol | Classic rye notes with infusions of orange

Orange creamsicle | Big spiced rye grain | Vanilla | Charred oak | Faint orange cream puff | Leather | Big spice with a sweet counterpart

Subtle orange zest | Orange rind | Light oak | Bold of rye spice | Lingering billowing heat

Starlight Distillery located in Borden, Indiana calls Huber’s Orchard & Winery home. The farm started in 1843 when Simon Huber settled it, and is now in the 7th generation of Hubers living and working on the farm. With over 600 acres to farm, Huber’s is a big operation growing a wide breadth of agriculture. In addition to having a variety of homegrown crops to choose from, the distillery also utilizes a plethora of finishing barrels with their whiskey.

In this instance, an ex-triple sec barrel was used on their signature rye blend. For those not familiar, according to Wikipedia, “Triple sec is usually made from a spirit derived from sugar beet (used because of its neutral flavor) in which orange peel is steeped, the oranges having been harvested when their skin was still green and they had not fully ripened, so the essential oils remained in the skin rather than the flesh of the fruit. The spirit is redistilled and mixed with more neutral spirit, water, and powdered beet sugar resulting in the final liqueur.” While the liquor is usually not aged, very occasionally it will rest in oak barrels (often used barrels) for a short amount of time.

The sip is upfront about its rye origins, displaying big bold spice from start to finish thanks in part to its 108.8 proof. The addition of the triple sec barrel is subtle, adding an orange influence throughout, starting with light orange rind on the nose. The palate and finish follow suit, delivering additional flavors of orange creamsicle, orange cream puff, and orange zest. Its triple sec influence is subtle and forces you to concentrate to pull them out. While the flavors are noticeable, they do fight against the proof of the whiskey which tends to be overpowering at times and makes this drink higher than the proof really is. Overall, this is an interesting pour, however, I'd like to see what this tastes like at a slightly lower proof to see if the barrel influence would shine even more.

The bottle in review is from barrel number 21-2283-1.