Ironroot Republic Texas Straight Bourbon Single Cask #10 (Lost Lantern)

Compared to the Harbinger, this hits me as much more similar to something from Kentucky. Caramel apple, cherry, cinnamon. Not picking up any of the funk that I did in the Harbinger. There's oak, but it's not overly tannic or overbearing, which can sometimes be the case in these Texas whiskies. If I were drinking this blind, I would've guessed this is 1792 Full Proof, which I haven't actually tried, but it tastes like what I think 1792 FP should taste like. Thanks once again to @ctbeck11 for this sample. Really enjoyable pour. Planning to make a trip soon to the distillery and hope I can find something that tastes like this one.

Tasting neat in a Glencairn: Nose presents dry, tannic oak with cherry and subtle vanilla. Palate offers roasted corn and vanilla with cinnamon and more cherry, this time like cherry cough syrup (but in a good way). Finish is soft with gentle wood spice.

The nose starts with smoked butterscotch caramel poured over fresh piping hot flapjacks right off the iron skillet then chocolate covered pecans followed by fruits of sautéed tender cinnamon apple slices, figs and Morello cherry jam that fades to fresh cut vanilla pod before transitioning to spices of black pepper, ginger, cloves, premium leather biker jacket and polished oak with high ethanol burn. The taste is a thick mouthfeel starting with caramel popcorn with candied pecans and peanuts followed by fruits of cinnamon apple crumb cake, figgy pudding and cherries jubilee then comes a medium spice with Mexican spiced blonde espresso mocha latte that fades to a light vanilla milkshake along with spices of black pepper, ginger, cloves, premium leather biker jacket and polished oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with Mexican spiced blonde roast mocha latte, sautéed caramel apples, orange zest, whipped honey butter slathered on top of cornbread, Golden mill flour, cloves, ginger, leather and polished oak. Wow, this is a big, bold, badass Texas whiskey that really ramps those flavors up with a nice balance but veers a little too spicy on the mid-palate before fading and bringing back those bold flavors back for a long and lingering finish that lasts for minutes. This runs laps around the Harbinger and I’m going to need to start paying better attention to Lost Lantern’s Ironroot picks as this is the second one I was lucky enough to try which really highlights their knack for finding these honey barrels they continue to pick out. A big thank you to @ctbeck11 for the Ironroot samples to try next each other.

Nose - rich floral notes, butterscotch, grilled corn, vanilla cream, sweet dough, baked apple, fig, apricot, orange zest, lemon, polished oak, powdered sugar, coffee, grass, chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, mint, macadamia nut, sweet tobacco, clay, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - apricot, apple, butterscotch, vanilla, chili pepper, rich floral notes, fig, leather, tobacco, cinnamon, grass, allspice, nutmeg, clove, dark chocolate, orange, lemon, pecan, walnut, spearmint, rich oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing long with ripe fruit, dark chocolate, grassy floral, and baking spice flavors. The nose greets you with a deep floral quality, followed up with grassy citrus and stone fruit aromas. There’s also a combination that reminds me of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies hot from the oven. The palate is extremely rich. More of those floral and citrus notes arrive with chocolate, baking spices, and nuts presenting through the development. The mouthfeel is thick and oily, leading to a satisfyingly long finish that doesn’t veer off in any unpleasant directions. Lost Lantern has delivered another stunner of an Ironroot Republic single cask with this one. I’m not sure whether it’s quite as good as the previous, but it’s pretty close. Like Texas whiskey in general, the Ironroot profile may not be for everyone. It’s rich, fruity, and floral, improving upon the Harbinger release in every way. At around three years old and 120.6 proof (@Distiller’s quoted ABV is incorrect), it’s surprisingly gentle and doesn’t taste particularly young, although I’m thinking the youth is masked by that fruity citrus and chili pepper zing. A bit more age would have probably improved it, but this is outstanding in its current form. Ironroot Republic is a distillery to keep your eyes on. And Lost Lantern continues to release truly exceptional independent bottlings from these lesser known producers. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be reviewing two more Lost Lantern single cask releases.