I like the whiskeys that are produced by Southern Distilling in Statesville, North Carolina. I first went there with Ken Bernardo in 2019. I toured the distillery and I was impressed with their whiskey. I was recently sent a sample and Matt and I sat down to taste it. It was very good and we made a YouTube video and quickly decided to put it aside for a possible whiskey of the month.
The distillery was contacted a few years ago about sending a barrel to a local honey producer to age some honey in the barrel. They got the barrel back with residue honey in the barrel and decided to finish a Bourbon in the barrel. They filled the barrel and put it in the warehouse for a year to age. After the year had passed, they tasted the whiskey and decided to bottle it. We are glad they did because Matt and I decided to make it our “Whiskey of the Month” for January 2025. Here are our tasting notes.
Southern Star Honey Barrel Finished Bourbon
Proof: 106.8
Age: Six Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel, honey, apples, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel. honey, raisins and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel, honey, apples, cardamom, allspice and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the honey and cardamom are enhanced. Tasted with a pecan and the caramel and apples are enhanced.
- Matt: Caramel, honey, raisins and oak wood. The dried cranberry added a note of buttered toast. The pecan added a note of chocolate.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak wood, baking spices and honey. The dried cranberry took the spice out of the finish leaving just oak wood and honey. The pecan made the finish longer and sweeter with oak wood and rich caramel.
- Matt: Medium long with oak and honey. The dried cranberry added lingering notes of raisin fruit. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood and chocolate.
I would pair this whiskey with a My Father The Judge cigar. The rich vanilla and chocolate of the smoke would pair well with the sweetness of the Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller