Starlight Distillery

In the unincorporated community of Starlight, Indiana, about 20 miles north of Louisville, the Huber family has been farming the same ground since 1843. Starlight Distillery is the youngest branch of that seven-generation enterprise, and it is a genuine farm-to-bottle operation: grain grown on the estate, fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled without ever leaving the family's hands. This is a working distillery, not a sourcing brand, and its bourbons and ryes have made it, by the family's count and its trade partners' agreement, Indiana's most awarded craft producer.

History & Heritage

Simon Huber emigrated from Baden-Baden, Germany, and established the family farm in 1843. For most of its history the operation was known as one of Indiana's largest fruit farms, and it still operates today as Huber's Orchard, Winery, and Vineyards. The distilling chapter began when the family secured legislative approval for farm brandy distillation in 1998, then founded Starlight Distillery in 2001 under cousins Ted and Greg Huber. A Christian Carl pot still, purchased from Germany in 2000, produced the brandy that reached shelves in 2004. When Indiana law changed in 2013 to permit artisan grain distilling, Starlight became one of the state's first artisan distilleries producing bourbon and completed a 13,000-square-foot stillhouse the same year. Today Ted Huber distills alongside his sons Christian and Blake, each working with his own mash bills and fermentation methods.

The Whiskey

Starlight works from estate-grown grains and uses sweet mash fermentation, an uncommon choice among American whiskey producers, with distillation on copper pot stills: the original Christian Carl for brandies and a larger Vendome for the grain side. The core lineup centers on Carl T. Bourbon, named for a family patriarch who was a lover of the spirit himself, and Old Rickhouse Rye, supported by The Finishing Cask line of specialty releases. The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library reflects that range, from Starlight Carl T. Bourbon Whiskey and Starlight Bourbon Bottle In Bond to more adventurous finishes like Starlight Carl T. Huber's Mizunara Finished Bourbon Whiskey, Starlight Napa Cab Batch, and Starlight Amburana Barrel Aged Cigar Batch. The library also holds Starlight Distillery 10 Year Bourbon, a limited July 2025 release aged a full decade in Seguin Moreau Icône barrels in the warmest pocket of the distillery's rickhouses. The awards keep coming. The Japanese Mizunara Reserve Finished Bourbon was named Best Overall Bourbon at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the event's highest bourbon honor, and the distillery followed with four Double Gold medals at the 2026 competition, where the Mizunara Reserve and the Blackberry Whiskey each scored 99 points.

Why It Matters

Plenty of craft distilleries talk about grain-to-glass; Starlight actually farms the grain. The combination of true estate production, sweet mash fermentation, pot still distillation, and a wide-ranging cask finishing program makes these expressions genuinely distinct from the Kentucky bourbon made just across the Ohio River. With 12 Starlight expressions on the shelf, The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library offers one of the deeper looks anywhere at what a seven-generation Indiana farm family can do with whiskey, and those who appreciate good whiskey will find the side-by-side comparison of finishes worth the visit on its own.

Visiting the Distillery

Starlight Distillery sits at 19816 Huber Road in Borden, Indiana, on the grounds of Huber's Orchard, Winery, and Vineyards. The tasting loft is generally open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, with hours varying by season, and the family asks that tastings begin at least 30 minutes before close. Tours can be booked in advance, including a Bottle-Your-Own Experience that pairs the Straight From the Barrel Tour with a 750 mL single barrel bottle visitors fill and take home.