I'm not sure I can come up with anything that hasn't been said already, but here goes... Based on some of reviews I've seen both here and elsewhere, I expected this to be a very different Balcones offering, albeit a good one. Having tried it, I'd now say it's unmistakenly a Balcones, with a twist. What's new (at least in my experience with Balcones)? The fruitiness - a great peach note on the front palate, followed by honey. There's also a malty cereal note that's a bit more typical in Scotch. What's the same? The Balcones rich, malty mocha. Like its home state, big and bold. Anyone who is familiar with Balcones would be able to guess that it's Balcones in a blind tasting. The final verdict? A winner. And at $40, a notably great value. Balcones is big enough that I'm hesitant to call it a craft distiller, despite it being independent of the big conglomerates. But I can't think of any American single malt that comes close at this price, craft or otherwise, and I'd take it over a number of other American single malts that cost twice as much.