Balcones has been on my list for a long time. There wasn’t any particular expression that was a greater priority than the rest—I just like the bottles and found it to be an intriguing. Took almost a decade after discovering them to actually get a bottle, but we can’t just buy everything that we see, can we? Looking forward to this one,and, in doing so, I’m reviewing my first Texas whiskey as well. Let’s check it out. Nose: A little sickly sweet out of the gate. Beyond that is a nice mint chocolate note—as well as rich dark chocolate. Cranberry/craisin and dried apricot. Flax seed. Root beer. Almond, macadamia, and hazelnut. Sugar cookie. Clove and nutmeg. White pepper. Palate: The mint and dark chocolate combo is strong here as well, along with vanilla and caramel. Raspberry Valentine’s chocolate as well. Black licorice and salt water taffy. Brown sugar. Almond and pecan. Plenty of oak. Ginger snap. Cornbread. Finish: Heavy flaxseed. Dried apricot. Raspberry Valentine’s chocolate again. Brown sugar and caramel. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Cornbread. Heavy cinnamon, white pepper, oak. Moderate-long finish. I really didn’t enjoy this one all too much on the first couple tastings. And now that I’ve given it some time to go through oxidation and really dug into it, I think this is awesome. It really opened up, and until I try some more Texas-based—or maybe other Western states—distillery—I really couldn’t compare this to anything else. Looking back over these notes, this really is an eclectic profile. Dry, dark, and oak-driven. And notes are just notes. One whiskey with the same notes an another may be infinitely more interesting than another—this leans toward the former. It’s a profile that isn’t inherently compelling, but everything comes together extremely nicely with this one. At $39, this was an absolute steal. A 100-proof, quality heavy hitter shy of $40? These are absolute rarity today. This is a phenomenal effort from Balcones. I need to start doing some research because I’m definitely getting another bottle from these guys. 4.5/5 after VFM boost.