Breaking Bourbon Award Winning Single Barrel Club picks are selected by Breaking Bourbon, and whenever possible with the help of Patreon supporters. The bottles are made available to Patreon supporters first by pledge tier. If any bottles remain after all supporters have had an opportunity to purchase, they are made available to the public on a first come, first served basis. Each barrel is sponsored by a retailer partner, who sells the bottles directly to end purchasers.

Retailer Partner: Seelbach’s

Classification: Straight Bourbon Finished in a Jamaican Rum Barrel

Company: Starlight Distillery

Distillery: Starlight Distillery

Age:  4.5 Years (Finished for an additional ~6 months)

Proof: 112.7

Mashbill: Undisclosed

Yield: 114 Bottles

Release Date: April 2023

Starlight Distillery is located on the grounds of the Huber estate in Borden, Indiana. 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. This bourbon was aged in Huber’s Old Rickhouse (on the grounds of the 7th generation Huber estate, established in 1843).” 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. They began distilling bourbon in 2013.

We’ve selected a barrel of Starlight Distillery Bourbon in the past, but this was our first visit to the distillery and farm. We met up with Andrew Jerdonek, Starlight’s Spirits Program Director and discussed how to narrow down what types of barrels we wanted to sample. Our first pick that day resulted in a Champagne finished bourbon which we’ve gone in-depth into already and released it to our Single Barrel Club in December 2022.

For our second pick, we settled on a Jamaican rum finished bourbon. We covered the rise of rum finished bourbon very early in their development, and we feel like we know them very well. It seems like every distillery is offering a rum finished bourbon at this point, and as fans of this particular style of finished bourbon, we knew we wanted to offer something different within that space. This is why we specifically asked if Starlight had any “Jamaican” rum finished bourbon because they offer something unique. Of course Starlight had some because they are the kings of barrel finishing. There are plenty of sweet molasses filled rum finished bourbons on the market, so we naturally gravitate to one that was, as Eric described it, “funky fresh.” One taste and you’ll agree, this rum finished bourbon is funky. And that’s what we always come back to when picking barrels, what’s the fun of picking barrels you can buy any day of the week on store shelves? This release is fun, unique, and challenging rolled up into one whiskey.  

For the custom sticker, we went with what Starlight does best. They are farmers by tradition and whiskeymakers by passion. Together, they are whiskey farmers. Where else do you find a tractor in the middle of a rickhouse?

Tasting Notes

Nose: Raisin | Molasses | Baking chocolate | White pepper | Bold

‍Palate: Caramel chews | Maple syrup | Brown sugar | Toffee | Punchy oak | Tobacco

‍Finish: Rush of spice | Burnt brown sugar | Cigar box | Seasoned oak | Turns slightly dry

About Seelbach’s

For this pick, we partnered with spirits retailer Seelbach’s, which was founded by Blake Riber, also the creator of Bourbonr and the Bourbonr Facebook group. An online-only retailer with a twist, we interviewed Riber to discuss how he’s running his shop differently than everyone else. “Unlocking Craft Spirits” he calls it - seeking out up-and-coming craft distilleries and learning about their process and tasting through their products to find hidden gems.

Distillers, Producers, and Retailers: If you would like to be a part of this program and get your name in front of millions of bourbon enthusiasts, contact us.

‍Please note these bottles will not be sold by Breaking Bourbon, but will be sold by retailers we partner with in order to fulfill the orders and ship the bottles directly to Patreon supporters. Breaking Bourbon will receive no compensation from our partner retailers under these agreements (with the exception of a bottle from each barrel for editorial purposes). If you represent a retailer and ship to consumers and you’re interested in partnering just let us know!