I've been sitting on this bottle for a year, cognizant of its scarcity value, but the combination of a wider release this year and a warm evening that called out for something lighter finally nudged me to pop its cork. I'm a fool for delaying. I was immediately rewarded with one of my favorite flavor profiles, a tropical fruit nose of pineapple, along with pine and lemongrass. And oh my lord the taste: this is beautiful and unique. There are apples and pears and malt, to be sure, but what stands out is the backdrop of aniseed. It’s subtle but distinct, not overpowering in a Pernod or absinthe way, but unmistakable nonetheless. I don’t think I’ve come across this flavor in a whisky before. You get so used to parsing the minor differences between the typical reference points that it’s incredibly exciting to encounter something so different. It’s the imprint of the plum liqueur cask finish, no doubt, and you can smell its provenance most significantly in the empty glass. As the aniseed tapers, there’s a long finish that fades to a zesty blast of cinnamon. I’m not sure how frequently I’ll return to this bottle, but the world seems a little better for its audacity. Amid a sea of expensive and indistinctive craft whisky, Baller has balls.