My single barrel was aged 4-5 years and comes in at 125.2 proof. For Texas whiskey, that’s pretty old. It’s a flavor bomb of cherries, cocoa, leather, vanilla, and oak. The nose reminds me of cherry jam, chocolate, and Raisin Bran cereal. The taste is ripe black cherries, vanilla extract, wheat bread, and oak with some black tea tannins. I don’t get that meaty, Texas “funk” in this like I do from Balcones and Garrison. The finish is actually sweet with more cherries. Next, I proofed this down with 10 drops of water and it got REALLY interesting. It toned down the cherries and astringent oak qualities while adding some lighter, maltier notes like honey, orange zest, and stone fruits. TBH I liked this whiskey best with some water. Edit: This makes one helluva old fashioned. I used maple syrup as my sweetener and it was delicious. Honestly, some of the best Texas whiskeys I’ve tried hasn’t been bourbons. Balcones does amazing things with malt (Lineage, Mirador), Ironroot’s best offerings are their corn whiskeys (Icarus, Hubris), and Herman Marshall’s best whiskey is their Saint Arnold Divine, a beer-based single malt. These whiskeys, and now Lone Elm, are what I would offer to someone who is looking to try some interesting Texas whiskeys.