Starlight Single Barrel Huber's Old Rickhouse Rye Finished in VDN Barrels

This specific single barrel is a Barrel selection, bottled at 52.4%, 5 years old, 11 months in a vino de naranja barrel. The white wine and orange peel are noticeable on the nose, along with bourbony notes of caramel and vanilla. The palate brings orange, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, mint, and mild herbal notes. The finish leaves a little too much bitter orange peel. At the sale price of $50, I believe this was a great purchase, but at the regular price of $70, the value decreases somewhat, although it's still a well-made craft whiskey with decent age and a unique finish. This is the first whiskey I've sampled from Starlight, and it's a strong initial impression. I would be interested to sample some others. 3.5 stars.

This is a unique whiskey, different from anything I've had before. While there's some rye spice, and I generally prefer sweeter bourbons, I found this one to be excessively sweet. The honey and orange flavors dominate the palate, followed by a lingering dry orange peel finish, similar to sucking on an orange rind. I'm glad I had the chance to try it, but I wouldn't purchase it again.

Initially a bit sharp/ethanol-like but softens after sitting for a while. The orange peel flavor is prominent and lingers nicely. Sufficient spice but not overpowering. Light body. A solid purchase. Note: acquired from reddit in Oct 2021.

Aroma is like cotton candy, pecans, citrus, and oak. Taste is a little sharp from the proof, with bitter oak, very sweet honey, and candied orange peel. Finish stings slightly, sweetness lingers, quite oily, a long finish.

The orange zest was an interesting element but didn't quite integrate. Worth sampling due to its distinctiveness.

Candied orange peel. Light brown sugar. Vanilla. Very smooth finish.