Starlight Single Barrel Huber's Rickhouse Select Bourbon (Barrel #1510)

Impulse buy! This has been gathering dust on the bottom shelf at a local store. Non-chill filtered, $50, I’m sold. Granted, I could have a RR single barrel for this price so expectations are high. The proof of 124.2 is the result of a 4-grain, sweet mash process followed by distillation using a copper pot still. The mash bill isn’t advertised but appears to be at the minimum for corn (51%) with equal parts rye and malted barley (20% each) and 9% wheat. The age listed is 4 years. Barrels are air dried between 2-4 years, however, toasting and char level seem to be a mystery. On paper this sounds like a serious bourbon, albeit a young one. The color is a nice amber. With a pop of the cork I expect a wave of grain and ethanol - instead I get gobs of young oak and caramel. Cherry cola evolves from the Glencarin within a minute or two. I also start picking up red-hot cinnamon candy, grahm cracker and maybe even a bit of spearmint. There’s a definite singe to remind me of its age and proof. That said, the ethanol is felt but not smelled per se. So far this is going very well, reminiscent of an EHT Barrel Strength. Moment of truth (10 minutes later because I could nose this all day). Hot and man is this viscous. It coats my mouth with warming cinnamon and melts down the throat with caramel. There’s some bubblegum funk In there and a hint of malt (lucky charms?) from the high barley. I don’t get much oak, leather or any nuttiness but for its age I’m nit surprised. Is this able to topple a Camp Nelson A RR bottle? No way - the complexity just isn’t there. The malt, cinnamon, sweetness and viscosity are a treat. The finish is enjoyable, not big or complex but long. Toasted marshmallow and cinnamon for the most part. With a few more years in the barrel this might yield dark fruit and oak but that, of course, is my BS speculation. At $50 I really want more but understand there are start up costs, etc. It’s definitely got more going on than a 2-4y Peerless bourbon for $20-30 less. Needs to go head to head with New Riff. Give this 4 more years and it could be a monster of a single barrel. These guys deserve some attention for what they’re doing up in southern Hoosier-vile. ————— Update, some editing has been done above and when tasted in a lineup this doesn’t hold up as well as I’d hoped. Could have been the lineup and will go again but score is falling as the honeymoon is over. Still no regrets, just not as starstruck. ————— Now chasing a pour of New Riff single barrel bourbon. The wheat is immediately more apparent on the nose (soft cereal aroma). Cola and dusty cherries are there as well. The palate hits and then fades with cinnamon, anise and light caramel flavors. Certainly am contender for my favorite craft distiller along the KY-IN border!

(Barrel #1509) After tasting their small batch option I was curious to see how it would taste at cask strength. Not knowing which mash bill this barrel is bums me out a bit. But nonetheless the proof has added a little more flavor and depth to the profile. Very clean and smooth for being 124.2 proof. Get a little of that pot still flavor which is different. Darker fruits like raisins come to mind at the end. Really like it.