I was given a generous pour of this by my buddy up north @jonwilkinson7309 . A bit of background—-Lost Lantern is a relatively new independent bottler that selects casks from those American craft distillers that are still relatively new or unknown (hence the name Lost Lantern), but provide high quality whiskey. These distillers might not have the distribution channels like the big craft players (Balcones, Stranahan’s), but can go toe-to-toe with any of them. They recently released four offerings—-I bought one of them ( a vatted malt...just because I loved Barrell’s vatted so much), but wanted to try this as well, an offering from Santa Fe, makers of Colkegan. You can clearly tell it’s young—-but the youth is well hidden with quality distillates. And furthermore, three year old for a well established player is young, but it’s actually impressive for new craft distillers. A crisp citrusy flavor is complemented by some smoke. The mesquite is lightly handled...it’s not in your face like Balcones or DelBac. It’s more nuanced and ideal for those just treading into smoky American malts. If you thought Balcones or DelBac was too much, this would be right up your alley. I’d almost compare this to a Peated Balvenie, which is much more muted than an Ardbeg or Lagavulin (granted, different type of peat being Islay than Balvenie’ s peat)...maybe Edradour’s Ballechin would be a better comparison since that’s similar type of peat. I saved myself 1/2 a pour because I’d love to do a side-by-side with Colkegan’s standard offering, just to see if Colkegan is normally a muted smoky flavor by design, or if Lost Lantern purposely chose a muted cask to appeal across a wider spectrum. Thanks Jon for the pour!