Starlight Carl T. Huber's Single Barrel Bourbon Finished In Honey Barrel

Tasting Notes

Nose: The nose doesn’t start off on the best foot as I find initial waves of grainy bourbon to be the first scent I detect.  There is also an odd amount of “ash” that I am picking up on too.  I have no idea why that is.  But the nose begins to sweeten up as you begin to take a couple more sips.  Notes of honeycakes and cinnamon are attractive while at the same time I find a huge blast of perfume (more along the lines of something a grandparent would use) and cardboard.  The scents feel scattered and non-complimentary although some are quite good to take in.

Palate: The graininess is still present upon the first sip.  There’s no denying this is a young bourbon at heart.  But as the session goes on, it does die down a little bit.  Notes of sweet honey wash over my tongue as cinnamon spice and oak wood move in to compliment it.  I even find a bit of apple pie flavors throughout.  I should note that the honey isn’t the only sweet flavor I can taste.  There is also a rather unpleasant saccharine (artificial sweetener) note that does the dram no favors.  If this saccharine note is from the honey, then the bees must have been pollinating some strange plants that day.  The good news is that I find my pour to taste below proof, even with some noticeable peppery notes here and there.