Fruitcake, Texas style. The French oak comes out clearly in this. French oak is tighter grained and less dense than American oak, so it imparts more subtle flavors and firmer, but silkier texture. It also gives it a bit of chocolate-y roasted quality, making it almost more elegant. Its American counterpart gives a more sweeter flavor, namely vanilla. But French oak is more expensive than American...just harder to work with, but not as difficult as the Japanese oak mizunara. This here clearly takes that French oak to heart. You get the Texas burnt charcoal, but comes out smoother and a bit less brash. At just about 2 years, personally I felt it could’ve benefited with more aging...but that Texas heat would’ve probably overdone the wood interaction anyway. Out of three Balcones I’ve had ( single malt 1, and Brimstone), this was far better. But...personally, my favorite American craft still remains as Del Bac’s Dorado...this maybe in the top 5 American craft, for me at least.