When I first started getting into whiskey, I discovered the Whiskey Vault guys on YouTube. I learned a lot about whiskey from them, so when I moved to Texas, I already knew about several great Texas distilleries thanks to them. When I heard that Daniel Whittington from the Whiskey Tribe had created a blend for the Texas Whiskey Festival from some of the best juice in the state and they were only selling it in Austin at their distillery, I had to try it. The blend is made up of whiskies from Balcones, Ironroot Republic, and Andalusia Whisky Company. On the nose I get a wonderful bouquet of corn (Ironroot), sweet barley (Balcones), and a puff of smoke (Andalusia). The palate brings more body from the single malt, with a creamy note, and the smoke from the Andalusia Stryker hanging out on the end. The finish lasts a looooonnnnng time, wit a gentle warming feel from the corn whiskey and the high proof, melding into baking spices as it goes on and on and on. This blend may fall under what we call a “unicorn” whiskey. It was made for one specific occasion and once it’s gone it may never come around again, but damnit if it’s not good while it’s around. All of the component whiskies in this blend are high caliber on their own, but together, they make a Texas version akin to what the guys at Compass Box are doing with scotch. Cheers y’all.