92
Score
Balcones Rum Cask-Finished Texas (Batch R20-1), 62%
Price: $80 ● Issue: Winter 2020 ● Reviewer: Susannah Skiver Barton
Don't try to be macho and slug this without water; you'll miss out on its best characteristics. Totally neat, it's quite good, but constrained by the numbing alcohol. Add some water and unlock flavors that continue to develop: tropical fruit, cinnamon stick, dark chocolate, and caramel on the nose, and more fruit, nuts, eucalyptus, and bitter herbs on the palate. It has a juicy, mouthwatering character with water, capped off by the well-integrated finish of charred oak, roasted pineapple, eucalyptus, and coffee beans.
