I tried this dram blind, and was given the reveal after submitting notes. This is Balcones Brujeria - an American Single Malt that is finished in Oloroso and PX sherry casks and bottled at cask strength. Let's see how I did.
Rich tobacco, honey, caramel and molasses. Worth noting the color is just bonkers. Sweet but closed on the nose.
Thick mouthfeel but oh so hot. Pepper, oak, nice cocoa component with some port notes. Rich currant, syrupy berry and maple. So hot, though.
Long, but powerful and hot. The sherry character is undeniable, but it's almost bittering. The pang of tannins, coupled with the heat lead me to believe this is a fairly young malt that's being wine flogged. It's not bad, but it's unbalanced.
I'm going to guess this is scotch, or a certain international distiller, and it's 5-11 years old. Heavily sherried, possibly port pipe, at around 60% ABV. It's worth noting that all of the fruits hide behind a large oaky figure, and it's bitter. This is revealed to me as Balcones Brujeria, or witchcraft, and it's about 2 years old and matured in the Texas heat in various dessert wine barrels. I was a little off on proof, fairly off on distiller, but I still feel pretty good about this overall. That said, I wouldn't buy it.
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