Review: Starlight 25th Anniversary Brandy, 25th Anniversary Bourbon, and Sakura Reserve Bourbon

When a whiskey label reads “distilled in Indiana,” most consumers immediately think of Indiana’s oldest continuously operating distillery in Lawrenceburg, officially known today as The Ross & Squibb Distillery and still more commonly recognized by many as MGP.

About 20 miles from Kentucky’s historic Whiskey Row, however, sits Indiana’s second oldest continuously operating distillery. Starlight Distillery, located in Borden and operating as DSP IN-31, has earned a reputation for bourbon and rye, particularly through an extensive range of cask finishes. Whiskey, however, was not the distillery’s starting point.

When Starlight began distilling in 2001, brandy was the primary focus, with the first release arriving in 2004. Whiskey distillation did not enter the picture until 2013. More than a decade later, the distillery drew the attention of whiskey enthusiasts with the 2025 debut of its first 10-year-old bourbon and 10-year-old American single malt.

Starlight marked its 25th anniversary in 2026 with another trio of special releases: Sakura Reserve Bourbon 8 Years Old, 25th Anniversary Brandy 20 Years Old, and 25th Anniversary Bourbon 20 Years Old. The two 25th Anniversary bottlings arrived on August 1, 2026, while Sakura Reserve Bourbon serves as only the second American whiskey influenced by sakura wood and the first matured in a sakura cask.

Let’s take a look at these three special 2026 releases and see how they turned out.

Starlight Sakura Reserve Bourbon 8 Years Old Review

Batch 1 is a blend of both of Starlight’s bourbon mashbills: 60% corn, 20% rye, and 20% malted barley, along with 51% corn, 20% rye, 20% malted barley, and 9% malted barley. The proportions of each mashbill remain undisclosed, although the three-grain recipe makes up the larger portion of the blend. Bourbons ranging from eight to nine years old were blended and allowed to marry before being entered into sakura casks.

Sakura is the Japanese flowering cherry tree, prized for its delicate blossoms. On March 2, 2026, Pursuit United released the first American whiskey finished with sakura wood. Pursuit Spirits accomplished this by using sakura barrel staves rather than full sakura casks, clearing the path for Starlight to become the first American whiskey matured in actual sakura casks.

The bourbon was transferred into new, heavily toasted sakura casks during the early winter of 2026. Two casks, each holding between 225 and 228 liters, were used for the maturation. They rested on the west side of Warehouse 2 near the door to maximize ventilation and airflow. Their low position in the rickhouse also made it easier to monitor for leakage, an important consideration because sakura is considerably more porous than American white oak. That porosity results in a substantially higher angel’s share along with a greater likelihood of cask leakage. The barrels were dumped in June 2026 after more than four and a half months of holding bourbon.

The nose opens with sandalwood and hard butterscotch candy. The sakura influence arrives as red plum, capturing the fruit from flesh to skin, with particular emphasis on the tannic quality of the skin. Given a little time in the glass, baked pear and nutmeg join the aroma, with the pear taking on an earthy quality. Despite the butterscotch candy, sweetness never defines the nose.

The palate heads in a different direction, opening with dense, oily cherry preserves alongside dark chocolate. That opening gradually shifts across the mid-palate as roasted pecans and vanilla bean come forward, while the mouthfeel becomes noticeably drier. The first sip brings cherry cordial to mind, with the oily mouthfeel reinforcing the creamy filling found inside the candy.

That transition continues into the finish, opening with a minerality that closely resembles limestone gravel dust before meeting black pepper, followed by the astringency of black coffee and roasted almonds.

I thoroughly enjoyed the nose and the opening moments of the palate. It is an excellent start for this bourbon. For my palate, however, the finish changes the experience in a direction I did not enjoy. The astringency becomes more aggressive than I prefer, and those qualities remain prominent enough that they are difficult to overlook. As a result, they detract from what is otherwise a largely successful pour. 118 proof. B / $150

Starlight 25th Anniversary Reserve Brandy Review

In September 2005, as Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast, its remnants drove a frontal boundary across Southern Indiana, dropping 5.2 inches of rain over three days on Starlight’s vineyards. The winery raced to harvest and process fruit during six of the seven days leading up to the storm. Once the weather cleared, the team spent the next two weeks sorting grapes by hand, separating compromised clusters from fruit that continued ripening under the sunny fall conditions that followed.

The estate-grown grapes used for Starlight 25th Anniversary Reserve Brandy were harvested between August 11 and September 2005, then distilled and barreled on September 23, 2005. The blend is built primarily around Villard, Seyval, Vidal, and Chardonel, with each variety fermented separately before being combined in approximately equal proportions. At least 10% of the remaining fruit consisted of Cayuga and Aurore, co-fermented as a field blend. Fermentation lasted 14 days in closed-top tanks under controlled conditions, with temperatures maintained between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The wines were distilled on an 80-gallon copper pot still built by Germany’s Christian Carl. During the finishing run, the spirit entered the still at approximately 150 proof, with final cuts determined through organoleptic assessment. The resulting eau de vie entered French Limousin oak casks at 120 proof.

From 2005 through 2018, the brandy matured in a new, medium-toast 60-gallon French Limousin oak Allier cask from Kelvin Cooperage. It was then transferred to a second-use 60-gallon French Limousin oak cask from Radoux, where it remained until June 10, 2026. Throughout maturation, the casks rested in non-climate-controlled rickhouses, first in Warehouse 1 before moving to Warehouse 4, always on the lower floors.

Starlight also employed a long-term slow-proofing approach. The cask was evaluated at eight years, ten years, and multiple points afterward, with small additions of water made over time rather than all at once. The gradual reduction in proof limited oxidative stress while avoiding abrupt dilution, allowing the brandy to reach its bottling proof of 86.3 naturally over a period of years.

The nose opens with an aroma I most often associate with high-ester white rum, sitting somewhere between rubber cement and pineapple. I absolutely love this note and would happily take even more of it. As it recedes, French vanilla comes forward alongside slightly waxy honeycomb, followed by baked apple. After two decades in French oak under Southern Indiana aging conditions, the oak never dominates the profile.

The palate begins with white peach and honeydew melon, followed by thin caramel sauce and a light amount of allspice. The mouthfeel lands at medium viscosity. Thanks to the gradual proof reduction over many years, it retains more body than I would normally expect from a spirit bottled around this proof. At the same time, bourbon drinkers who gravitate toward higher-proof releases may find it somewhat thinner and softer than they prefer. Viewed alongside well-aged Cognac and Armagnac bottled at similar proof levels, however, the viscosity comes across as entirely appropriate.

The finish changes direction with a substantial dose of clove that remains in front for quite a while before giving way to earthy rancio, black pepper, and finally a faint chalk note.

Overall, Starlight turned out an excellent 20-year-old American brandy. Drinkers who regularly enjoy Cognac and Armagnac with comparable age statements and proof points, many of which also reach bottling strength through gradual in-cask proof reduction, should find plenty to appreciate here. Bourbon drinkers, on the other hand, may wish for additional concentration and a fuller presence on the palate, particularly given the $400 asking price.

This is the oldest American brandy I have tasted, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. Even so, when viewed alongside other American brandies available today, I do not place it at the top of my personal list. In 2026, Louisville’s Copper & Kings American Brandy Company released Revival American Brandy, built from house-distilled stocks ranging from eight to 12 years old, averaging 10 years, bottled at 114.8 proof, and priced at $65.

Also in 2026, with full disclosure, I selected a single barrel of brandy from Copper & Kings that had matured for more than 12 years, with that time divided between initial aging in ex-bourbon barrels and a finish in a Kentucky Peerless rye barrel. It was bottled at 111 proof, below cask strength, and priced at $90.

Both 2026 releases from Copper & Kings sell for substantially less than Starlight 25th Anniversary Reserve Brandy. Regardless of the significant differences in proof and age, I simply prefer the profiles of those two Copper & Kings brandies. That perspective comes from someone who regularly drinks both bourbon and French brandy. Starlight’s anniversary release is unquestionably a very good American brandy, but at $400, it enters a price tier where personal preference becomes impossible to ignore. As much as I enjoyed it, there are other American brandies I reach for first, including two distilled within roughly 25 miles of Borden, Indiana. 86.3 proof. A- / $400

Starlight 25th Anniversary Reserve Bourbon 10 Years Old Review

In 2025 and 2026, Starlight released a 10-year-old bourbon blend. The distillery also marked its 25th Anniversary with this 10-year-old single barrel bourbon. It was distilled from Starlight’s three-grain mashbill, built around estate-grown non-GMO corn, using a cool, sweet mash fermentation that lasted seven days. Distillation took place on a Vendome copper pot still with high cuts, and the spirit entered the barrel at 112 proof. The barrel, built by Canton Cooperage, featured toasted and charred staves that had been air-dried for two years, along with an extra-charred head.

The barrel spent its early years in the cooler conditions of Warehouse 1 before being relocated to one of the warmer pockets on the southeast side of Warehouse 2. It rested in the back left corner, an area where barrels commonly gain four to six proof points during extended maturation. Filled during the summer of 2016 and harvested in the summer of 2026, it spent at least 10 years in oak.

The nose opens with creamy milk chocolate and heavily toasted marshmallows. Given a few minutes in the glass, tiramisu and roasted chestnuts join the profile. The overall aroma remains sweet and roasty without becoming tannic or developing sharp edges. It is an enjoyable start.

Maple granola and black walnuts lead the palate. The mid-palate delivers a dense mouthfeel alongside heavily smoked bacon and mocha. Much like the nose, the whiskey never suggests excessive oak. Time treated this barrel well.

The finish turns to sweet tea, with particular emphasis on the sweetness, supported by a mouthfeel that reinforces that quality. Caramelized sugar follows, joined by very mild pipe tobacco and a touch of ground ginger.

Starlight selected an excellent barrel to commemorate its 25th Anniversary. At $300, the asking price is substantial, though I prefer this single barrel to the 2025 10-year-old blend without hesitation.

That comparison comes from firsthand experience. Before the 2025 blend was released, I tasted each of the 10 barrels selected for that batch. Every barrel came from Seguin Moreau’s Icone Series, and I would choose this 25th Anniversary single barrel over any of those individual barrels. I also prefer it to the 2025 blend.

My preference, however, shifts when the 2026 release enters the discussion. I strongly favor the 2026 10-year-old blend over its 2025 predecessor, with the newer release drawing barrels from three cooperages rather than relying exclusively on Seguin Moreau. Between the two 2026 releases, I also give the edge to the 10-year-old blend over the 25th Anniversary single barrel.

Consumers who are comfortable spending $300 are likely to come away satisfied with the 25th Anniversary single barrel bourbon. If both bottles are available, though, the 2026 10-year-old blend is the better value at $250, based on both price and overall enjoyment. 120.4 proof. A / $300

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