Every time I've opened a new Balcones bottle it's impressed me, and this is no exception. I love this whisky, though it's nothing like the bourbon and corn whisky I've become used to. The mash bill is 100% malted barley from Texas and Scotland. According to the label, it's AGED AT LEAST 36 MONTHS IN OAK - apparently they have a minimum aging period, after which they age to taste. It's 94 proof, and cost me $41.99 for a fifth at the Uptown Total Wine here in Albuquerque. The color in the glass is reddish wheat. The legs form very slowly, which I take indicates the amount of alcohol, and run down long and randomly spaced around the glass. NOSE: The nose is very strong - before I ever approached the glass to my nose, I could smell the whisky. It wasn't unpleasant, and there were no specific notes, but I could definitely smell it. Approaching my nose to the glass I detected apple juice and alcohol. With my nose fully into the glass, there were notes of vanilla, an underlying warm note, apples, bananas, and a very slight smokiness. TASTE: Sipping the whisky gave me an initial note of cool water. Then came a note of bitter Baker's Chocolate (which I used to enjoy eating when I was young), and some oak. After the complexity of the nose, the simplicity of the taste surprised me, but it's nevertheless a very pleasing thing on the tongue. The mouthfeel is very creamy, almost oily. FINISH: The finish is long. It begins with a strong oak note, followed by dark chocolate and puffed wheat, with smoke coming on, followed by brown sugar. Then the oak comes back and lingers, and lingers, and lingers... I expected great things from this bottle because the two other Balcones products I've had delivered great things. The Lineage didn't disappoint me; I expected great things, and it delivered great things.