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

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Name: SBC #79 - “Gingerbread Christmas Cookie” Starlight Bourbon Finished in a Brazilian Amburana Barrel

Classification: Straight Bourbon Finished in a Brazilian Amburana Barrel

Company: Starlight Distillery

Distillery: Starlight Distillery

Age: 4 Years

Proof: 110.7

Mashbill: Undisclosed

Yield: 240 Bottles

Release Date: July 2023

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Name: SBC #80 - “Tropical Velvet” Starlight Bourbon Finished in a Spanish Brandy Barrel

Classification: Straight Bourbon Finished in a Spanish Brandy Barrel

Company: Starlight Distillery

Distillery: Starlight Distillery

Age: 4 Years

Proof: 111.2

Mashbill: Blend of two mashbills:

• 60% Corn, 20% Rye, 20% Malted Barley
• 51% Corn, 20% Rye, 20% Malted Barley, 9% Wheat

Yield: 294 Bottles

Release Date: July 2023

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Name: SBC #81 - “Stone Fruit Spice Rush” Starlight Rye Finished in a Brazilian Amburana Barrel

Classification: Straight Rye Finished in a Brazilian Amburana Barrel

Company: Starlight Distillery

Distillery: Starlight Distillery

Age: 4.5 Years

Proof: 115

Mashbill: Undisclosed

Yield: 228 Bottles

ReleaseDate: July 2023

All of the barrels we pick are special and many have an interesting backstory. However, in the case of these three barrels, each one is super unique in its own right and stands out more than almost any other barrel we’ve picked in the past.

The tale is one old as time, it was a cold windy day in Indiana, the whiskey was flowing, and great chats were being had with Christian Huber. As we tasted through a plethora of barrels, Christian asked if we wanted to try something special. We walked to the back of the rickhouse to four barrels with different colored barrel heads compared to the rest of the bunch, and each had the number “1948” printed prominently. It turns out, these were really unique barrels and the distillery only had four in total but was willing to allow our group to have one of them if we wanted. The barrels were originally created in 1992 and were first filled with Pedro Ximenez PX brandy which aged for 17 years. After the PX brandy, the barrels were filled with 1948 brandy from Spain which aged for 13 years. Finally, the barrels were used to finish Starlight Bourbon. It’s a super unique backstory, and produced a really unique flavor profile filled with bright fruit notes and delivered with a velvety mouthfeel.

The next two barrels are both Amburana finished barrels. With Amburana finished whiskey on the rise, it’s still a relatively new concept and this was our first time picking any Amburana finished whiskey, which Starlight refers to as “cigar barrels.” Both barrels we ended up selecting are second fill barrels which helped to temper down the incredibly strong onslaught of flavors you often get with a first fill Amburana barrel. While we were excited to pick a cigar bourbon barrel, Christian pointed out that they had a rye barrel available if we wanted to try it. All it took was one sip and we knew we had to have it. It’s so full of flavor and pairs so well with the base rye that it will blow you away, especially if you’ve never had an Amburana finished whiskey. 

Since these three barrels were so different, we wanted to zero in on highlighting their unique flavor profiles rather than just come up with a funny sticker design or nickname. So we went down the rabbit hole of what was possible and came out the other side with custom bottle hang tags. These tags allowed us to put the name and tasting notes on them, and don’t require the consumer to alter the bottle or label in any way if they don’t want to. We thought this was great since you’ll definitely want a few bottles and will want to revisit these tasting notes years down the road. We know we’ll certainly be doing just that!

Tasting Notes

SBC #79 - “Gingerbread Christmas Cookie” Starlight Bourbon Finished in a Brazilian Amburana Barrel

Nose: Gingerbread cookie | Raisin | Bakery scents | Cinnamon bun | Intoxicating aroma

Palate: Gingerbread cookie | Cinnamon raisin bread | Dessert-like | Rich flavor intensity

Finish: Sweet undercurrent | Raisin | Gingerbread | Christmas spices | Long

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SBC #80 - “Tropical Velvet” Starlight Bourbon Finished in a Spanish Brandy Barrel

Nose: Tropical fruit | Apricot | Light oak | Touch of mango | Sweet & inviting

Palate: Apricot | Green grape | Light leather | Velvety mouthfeel | Delicious

Finish: Baking spices | Allspice | Apple | Sweet undertone with lingering spice

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SBC #81 - “Stone Fruit Spice Rush” Starlight Rye Finished in a Brazilian Amburana Barrel

Nose: Charred oak | Stone fruit | Fruit cup | Baking spices

Palate: Graham cracker | Rye spice | Raisin | Caramel | Gingerbread cookie | Earthy underpinning

Finish: Rush of rye spice | Brown sugar | Raisin | Lingering spice | Warming intensity on the backend

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!