TX Straight Bourbon Cognac Cask Finish

Proof: 101.6 Alc./Vol.: 50.8% Bottled: 2023 A gift from my stepfather-in-law for my anniversary, which is definitely the kind of gifts I prefer no matter the occasion. I remember having TX bourbon for the first time many years ago when I was first getting into spirit tasting and thinking it was one of the absolute sweetest bourbons I've ever had. I didn't particularly love it, but I definitely kept coming back to it for the natural sweetness that other distilleries could never get close to. Fast forward to now and there are now more distilleries than ever, and a lot more options than there ever have been, no matter what flavor profile(s) you're looking for. However, I still think classic TX bourbon is still one of the top 3 sweetest expressions for a fairly young bourbon, which is awesome to compare alongside a rye-based bourbon with very spicy notes, in order to assist people in detecting sweet versus spicy in bourbon nuances. The barrel finishing series is always a fun way to play with those base flavors of the bourbon, especially because you can only make so many changes to keep the title. Out of the 3 available barrel finished products this distillery produces, I would have been most excited to try the port variant, but certainly least excited for the sherry one, so this meets a perfect middle. The proof is a little low to fully benefit from and to dissect all flavors from a second barrel, but still high enough that it should be easily distinguishable from the classic bourbon. I've never been a fan of missing age statements (either the base age or the finishing time) from the bottle, especially when you involve a second cask, and the bottle date of just "2023" disconnects the customer from the personal side of the distillery (especially since this is the only barrel finished variant that uses an abysmal 2 year aged base spirit with no listed timeline), but I'm curious nonetheless how Texas does barrel finished whiskey. The color is quite dark considering the very low age time, with the caramel-walnut shade likely being attributed to the longest barrel finishing time of any of the barrel finished variants from this distillery. The sweet corn and cracked wheat are simple and lead the scent (but are very young and underdeveloped due to the short age time), but the musty grape from the cognac combine well alongside it. Sub-notes of cherry, coffee fruit, and honey are found on the semi-potent nose of ethanol. The body is watery but still has a bite to it, with initial flavors of honey and cherry, but isn't overly sweet or fruity. The cherry develops into a chocolatey cherry cordial flavor, with the gums getting a bit of a numb from the proof. This burn stops at the gums, however, as the back of the mouth and throat seem to pick up on the soft wheat body. The same flavors linger for quite some time, but the extended finish does introduce a bit of a floral, honey, yeasty flavor alongside all of the above. The biggest worry I had with this was that the short age time would cause the corn and wheat to taste too aggressive and overshadow the cognac barrel notes. Although this did not happen, this fairly tasty product would without a doubt be improved by no less than 3-4 more years of initial aging, and about 5-10 more proof points. Having said that, the cognac really is detected here, and very distinguishable from the regular bourbon. Given the low distribution and high cost, I would not purchase this again until the age and proof were attended to as described, but if you really, absolutely need to see what Texas and all of their possible ingredients are capable of, AND you want something special that isn't the TX bourbon or blended whiskey, this is probably one of your best choices, provided you like cognac as well.

really smooth

Fruit sweetness.

Interesting overall. Not as good as the sherry finish and definitely not as good as the tawny port finish. Has a sweetness to it, but overpowering. Same oakiness on the nose.

Nose is red candy, and floral fruitiness, likely from the cognac barrel impact. Almost like a fruity bourbon. Apple comes through immediately when you taste it, settling down to cherries and bubble gum. There is some of that Texas dustiness throughout, though the overall impression from start to finish is "red candy". I actually like it a fair bit. This is my first time trying this distillery's stuff since being burned like everyone else by their TX Blended.