High West Cask Collection Blend of Straight Whiskeys Oloroso Sherry Barrel Finish

Nose definitely brings the sherry influence with ripe orchard fruits, along with caramel flan, barrel char, oak, and a hint of herbal lemongrass. Ethanol is unobtrusive, but it’s there if you huff deeply enough. Palate opens with some great dried fruit sherry notes like golden raisin, date, fig, prune, apple, and citrus. Then some bourbon layers come in the form of nutty toffee and vanilla. Flavors are decently rich. Finish is overwhelmingly smoky to the point of being damn near scotch-like. What the hell? Thankfully there’s some oak, nutmeg, and caramel after the smoke fades which almost saves it, but the smoke just kept punching me in the face. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied and neither grainy or creamy so neither a pro or a con. There’s some things to like here with the sherry finishing but ultimately a flawed and unbalanced finish did this one no favors. On the pricing side, while this normally goes for $69.99 in my area, a local place got stuck with a bunch of it and marked it all the way down to $37.99 which is why I took the flyer. Unfortunately, it’s not even worth that. Disappointing.