Not all Indiana whiskey is MGP.

Granted, for a while, most of it was. The few other operating distilleries were small and locally distributed, meaning if you saw “Distilled in Indiana” on a label it was virtually assured you were drinking MGP bourbon or rye.

Now, there’s reason to believe there’s more to Indiana whiskey than MGP. Between Alan Bishop’s work at Spirits of French Lick and emerging distilleries in Indiana’s Black Forest region, distilling is returning to the Hoosier State.

Starlight Distillery developed, as many farm-based distilleries do, out of a winery. Simon Huber settled what is now Huber farms in Antebellum Indiana - 1843 - bringing a Germanic tradition of wine-making and agriculture. Originally, it was 80 acres. Today, the farm is over 600 acres, producing wines, brandies, and whiskies. According to Huber’s website, they’re Indiana’s largest wine-grape producer, churning out almost 200 tons of grapes a year.

It took 135 years to become a formal winery, but Huber’s did just that in 1978. Two decades later, they contracted a Christian Carl still from Germany (the same company Santa Fe Spirits used for their still), with the first brandy produced in late 2004. It’s not clear when whiskey production started, but the family has put aside 50 acres on their farm just for corn production.

Starlight’s whiskey single barrels have become collector’s items, either for unique finishes (such as this Amburana barrel finish) or for the stickers that groups and stores put on the bottles (my personal favorite is a Starlight Bourbon with the character Starlight from “The Boys” on the back). The mix of three- and four-grain mash bills is unique for a bourbon, blending a rye-d bourbon with a four grain that’s a barely-legal bourbon at 51%. The combination creates Starlight’s whiskey fingerprint, firmly separating it from MGP and any other Indiana distillery in operation.

This particular bottle was one of Starlight Distillery’s Carl T. Huber’s Bourbon finished in Brazilian Amburana barrels. Amburana is a hardwood native to South America, being used most often to age cachaça, a fermented sugarcane beverage similar to rum. Don’t let them confuse you, though - as of 2015, all sugarcane spirits from Brazil coming to the states must be labeled “cachaça”, regardless of the similarities. It truly is the national spirit of Brazil.

Cachaça is most often aged in Amburana barrels. Amburana lends flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, and soft creamy oak, complimentary to both bourbon and rye. It’s also a protected species threatened by habitat loss, so acquiring it is both difficult and expensive. Huber’s uses these Amburana barrels to age their bourbon (and rye, but that’s for another review) for between 3-8 months depending on flavor, and the Amburana is front and center despite the relatively short finishing time.

This pour is full-on Cinnamon Toast Crunch from nose to finish. Stewed berries weave in and out, as does a minty tobacco note, but the cinnamon sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla are in the lead from the gate.

My favorite part? It’s unique - I know other brands have experimented with Amburana barrels, but this is the first time I’ve tried one. Sign me up for the next release, because this was fantastic. Also don’t be fooled by the “Cigar Batch” label - it’s not close to the same profile as Joseph Magnus’ Cigar Blend and that’s just fine.

Thank you to my friend Darren for the sample. Please follow him on Instagram @deez_burbinz.

Starlight Huber’s Cigar Batch Brazilian Amburana Barrel-finished Bourbon Whiskey: Specs

Classification: Indiana Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Origin: Starlight Distillery

Mashbill: Blend of 3-Grain Mashbill (60% Corn, 20% Rye, 20% Malted Barley) and 4-Grain Mashbill (51% Corn, 20% Rye, 20% Malted Barley, 9% Wheat)

Proof: 1109.2 (54.6% ABV)

Age: 4.5 Years Old

Location: Indiana

Starlight Huber’s Cigar Batch Brazilian Amburana Barrel-Finished Bourbon Whiskey Price: $89.99

Official Website

Starlight Huber’s Cigar Batch Brazilian Amburana Barrel-finished Bourbon Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Amber. Thin rims, slow sagging-off-the-rim droplets.

Nose: Cinnamon Toast Crunch. So much cinnamon sugar. French toast, eggy bread soaked in cream, dark red wine and stewed berries underneath. Minty tobacco, petrichor, toasted barrels that remind me of how Jack Daniel’s Heritage Barrel smells.

Palate: Oaky up front (or maybe woody in general?), a minty but quite unique first sip. The amburana is a totally new experience to my palate. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch keeps building, creamy and sweet and exotic. Not smoky at all. Mouthfeel is silky and coating, clove and nutmeg leading the spices. Cinnamon crumble and the edge of burnt French toast.

Finish: Long, an armagnac-like vinous note emerging. Still Cinnamon Toast Crunch-forward, lighter and leaving more flavor than physical coating.

Overall: Unique - I’ve never had amburana wood-finished bourbon before, and I love it. It’s different from any other “cigar blend” or any finishing I’ve had before. I’m now off to try some cachaça.

Final Rating: 7.4

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Label Batch 4 or 2, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Stagg Jr. Batch 10, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Has promise but needs work

1-3 | Let’s have a conversation