Whisky : Balcones Rum Cask Finish; 2020 Edition

Country/Region : US/Texas

ABV : 62%

Cask : Ex-Balcones Rum

Age : 2 Years (35 months, Bottled 6 Feb. 2020)

Nose : Sweet and woody with notes of cinnamon candies, black licorice, cola, and melting Otter Pops.  Charred cherry wood, lumber supply store, and resin emerge before sweeter notes of maple syrup and rum raisin cake come into focus.

Palate : Medium bodied and dry with a palpable woody astringency.  Sweet black sugar, grassy pandan, dry powdered baking spices, and a hint of sarsaparilla.  Saw dust and fizzy cherry cola come to mind as pine resin, wood glue, and sun bleached lumber come into focus.  Ginger and cola come through on the end with a sweet finish.

Finish :  Lingering dry spices with subtle caramel char.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Licking Cola off a 2x4

Something Better : Craigellachie 15Y SMWS 44.110 (similar sarsaparilla, cola, & spice, more fruit)

Something Better : Balcones 3Y SMWS 140.1 (similar rootbeer & cola, more tropical fruits & salt)

Something Worse : Westland Reverie Fig. 1 (similar sweet spice & cola, more jam/notes, less wood)

Notes :  A bit woody, a bit sweet, and an overall lovely dram with plenty of typical Balcones character.  The wife and I tried this blind the first time and I immediately recognized the distillery when those bright cola notes came through on the nose and on the back end of the palate.  While this picked up a load of tannic astringency and structure from the Texas heat, it was not unpleasantly dry and the ex-rum barrels imparted a load of lovely exotic sugars.  This dram was a good measure more put together than the previous rum finished Balcones I tried.  While that prior Balcones improved a lot with a few drops of water, this one did not take to water very well.  A few drops brought out more wood and a bit of herbal bitterness on the finish, this was far more enjoyable at cask strength.  Overall a nicely balanced and really unique profile.