Starlight Distillery French Limousin Oak

Starlight Distillery Straight Bourbon Finished in Limousin French Oak – “It’s okay, I’m a Limo Driver”

French Oak??
So What’s the Story with French Oak and this “hand selected” barrel Brian got? Sound like BS to you??

This is another question I’m getting a bunch….so let’s unwrap this

First we need to break down what “French Oak” means. For those on the West Coast it’s like saying Willamette Vally Wine or California Wine…or as broad as just saying Toyota.

Each of those examples break down more granularly to greater specifics

Like cars, wine, bolts, bikes and other things French Oak has regions that impart different flavors and characteristics

*image by Wine Follly

I discovered this is NOT common knowledge to most/MANY people

When I was at Starlight they had 4 different French Oak barrels from 4 different regions. Same distillate, same age, same place in the Rick house. FWIW, Nevers and Limousin were my favorite.

Okay so that’s part one

Now, here is the story

Starlight’s distiller, founder, and a few key people went to France, walked in these forests and picked the tree. They literally picked out the tree. They watched it get milled into boards, staves, and the final barrel being constructed.

And yes, they showed us photo’s of WWII bullets that were lodged in the trees

The Barrels were shipped back and thus began their French Oak Project

Picking a Barrel at Starlight-
After 6-8 barrels I was NOT overly impressed with anything. The price point of $45-$49 was SUPER appealing but I still wasn’t on board. These were all 4-5 year maturity which are lots of the picks I see on the market from them.

The Distiller and I chatted for a few…..then he climbed up into the corner of the Rick House. “There are the founder’s reserve barrels. They are some of the oldest stuff we have, If you don’t like these then we’re just not for you”

PAY DIRT & now we’re cooking with gas

We were fortunate enough to get one of their oldest barrel and was deciding between the Nevers & Limousin Cask French Oak aged at 6.5 years in May, this may have hit a 7yr statement if we could have held off bottling until drop date.

Bottle Details:

💥 Straight Bourbon
💥 6.5yr
💥 60% Corn , 20% Rye, 20% Malted Barley
💥 Finished in Hand Selected Limousin French Oak
💥 58.05% ABV / 116.1 Proof

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