Background

Two honey finished bourbons to review today! I love honey, absolutely love it, and as I’ve yet to try the holy grail of honey finishes- Belle Meade Honey Cask- I’ve got to make due with other, more available, offerings on the market. This brings us to Shortbarrel’s “The Bee’s Knees II” and Starlight’s Bourbon finished in Honey Barrels (Selected by Seelbach’s). Shortbarrel details their process in great length on the bottle and their website, but first they take a 50/50 blend of 4 year Bardstown Bourbon Company Bourbon and 5 year Green River Distillery Bourbon. Then, they add the blend back to four barrels (one medium toast, three heavy char) used by Atlanta’s Honey Next Door (which offers a bourbon barrel aged honey) where it's aged at least another 60 days. Those four barrels are THEN blended together for the final product.

As for Starlight… oh come on Starlight you’re not selling enough barrel picks to update your website?! It says 2016 on the page but this shit is giving me like, 2008 vibes. Ok per SEELBACH’s product page, this is a 4.5 year single barrel that was a blend of two mashbills- 60% corn/20% rye/20% malted barley & 51% corn/20% rye/20% malted barley/9% wheat. No details that I could find on their honey finishing process, but that’s enough background on these two- let’s taste!

Shortbarrel “The Bee’s Kness II” Bourbon finished in Honey Casks (4 Years, 114 Proof)

Nose: Wildflower honey, the good, farmer’s market stuff! Yeah it’s hard to get much else here and I’m not mad about it. I asked for honey, give me the honey.

Palate: Honey, yes, but also some bright melon and peanut brittle.

Finish: One of those honey infused peanut butters. That nuttiness from the palate pops a touch more on the finish.

Very Good (6/10)

Overall: Is it a little one note? Sure, but it's a delicious note. It’s brighter and more floral than the Starlight. I'd love to see what depth a higher age statement base would bring to this, because I think Shortbarrel has a good process established. I just imagine some 6-8 year juice would give this a bit more complexity.

Starlight Honey (4.5 Years, 114.9 Proof)

Nose: Straw, honeycrisp apples, and yes- honey. Less aggressively honey forward than the Shortbarrel.

Palate: Honey, caramel chews, bit-o-honey candies, peanut brittle and some orange peel.

Finish: Honey, leather, still orange peel, some barrel spices, more straw. There’s a nice gentle heat that comes on late.

Very Good (6/10)

Overall: This is slightly more complex than the Shortbarrel, and you get a little bit more of the underlying bourbon notes coming through here. It’s not just a honey forward sweet treat, the light bit of spice and heat that comes through at the end goes a long way to balance the sip. I’ve had some mixed experiences with Starlight picks - but Starlight and Seelbach’s got this one right.

Honestly, chalk this one up to a matter of preference. This is purely a guess, but it seems like the process Shortbarrel took might have involved some better honey? It has these floral, wildflower honey pops of flavor that are really lovely. Dealer’s choice on which people may prefer, but ultimately I’m left thinking both are tasty, and both would also benefit from a slightly older base.