Peach Street Pear Brandy XO Edition, single barrel

Peach Street Distillers (Palisade, CO) Pear Brandy XO Edition, single barrel, and a minimum of 6 years in French oak. Bottled at 80 proof. Tasted neat. Bright straw yellow and average coating legs in the glass. Nose is floral vanilla and distinct ripe pear--that's the theme. In the mouth, it's pears and floral vanilla oak. Earthy rotting fruit flavor, like the smell of an unpicked orchard. Thin mouthfeel, no tannins, but vanilla oak, giving it a little astringent and mineral taste in the mouth. Strong lingering floral vanilla in the finish... too much after a while. Where other brandy distillers are opting to remove more of the overt fruit flavor and focus on a clearer fruit "essence," Peach Street is going all in on a fruit-forward brandy. Not everyone is gonna like that (me? meh, 3.75?), but I'm giving them the ratings benefit-of-the-doubt for pursuing their version. They are also willing to put up an XO, which is an ongoing 6yr commitment. They're experimenting across the distilling board, and making a few local hits with gins and fruit brandies. An operation to watch.