Silk Velvet Revival Rye + Starlight Blood Moon Batch

While the Kentucky Bourbon Festival is kicking off in Bardstown, we’re highlighting two highly anticipated releases from a couple of our favorite names in whiskey today!

First up is the Silk Velvet Kentucky Revival Blend, the brand’s first rye whiskey. We first fell in love with Silk Velvet at KBF last year through their bourbon, so it feels fitting that their newest release is making its debut at the festival this week.

The Revival Blend brings together hand-selected barrels of 95/5 rye distilled in Kentucky by eighth-generation distiller Jacob Call. The youngest whiskey in the blend is 6 years, 11 months old, aged in #4 char American white oak and bottled at 107 proof. We got to taste this last week when in Western Kentucky picking barrels, and we think people will be really happy with the unique profile it brings to the market. 

Silk Velvet’s history dates back to Henderson, Kentucky in 1880. Nearly 150 years later, the Hargis family revived the name alongside Call, combining that history with generations of Kentucky distilling experience. This rye is a different side of Silk Velvet, but one that still feels right at home in the lineup.

Grape Kool-Aid powder, maraschino cherries, raspberry shortbread cookies and just a kiss of sweet mint lead on the nose before canned tropical cocktail juice and brown sugar come in, with a gentle layer of toasted oak.

The palate is chewy and rounded, moving into fig jam and date before sweeter notes of grenadine and lime juice. A gentle, candied layer of baking spices creeps in mid-palate, supported by lots of buttery oak.

Nips of clove add sparkle to the finish before caramel sauce and dark cherry syrup blanket the palate, leading into a long, pastry-like sweet oak finish.

 

Next up, there's Blood Moon. Starlight has never been afraid to experiment, but this fifth release of Blood Moon Bourbon is one of the more unique releases to come out of the distillery.

This 9.5-year-old Indiana straight bourbon is built around heirloom Bloody Butcher red corn, a historic corn variety that gives the whiskey a character all its own. We actually offered this Bloody Butcher release from Starlight years back when it was just 5.5 years old, so it’s incredible to see how much additional flavor and maturity another four years in the barrel has brought.

Starlight uses sweet mash fermentation and traditional copper pot stills before aging the whiskey in new charred American oak. At 110 proof, it brings together nearly a decade of maturation with the darker fruit, caramel, and rich complexity that make Bloody Butcher corn such an interesting part of their lineup. 

Heavy, custardy, and earthy, the nose gives plenty of chocolate-covered cherry pie notes, moving toward caramel fudge with crushed almonds and slightly smoked oak.

The palate drinks surprisingly easy, yet rich, with deep chicory espresso, viscous cherry syrup, and plenty of mature, sweet oak. Its velvety texture swirls with fudge brownies and caramel-drizzled whipped cream.

The finish is long and lingering, with chocolate malt and soft pepperiness before creamy sweet oak and buttery caramel peanut butter pie.