Made from 100% Texas grains, the new expression contains the same mash bill as the company’s flagship straight bourbon whiskey – 70% Non-GMO white corn, 25% Elbon rye, and 5% wildfire malted barley – but without utilizing the slow water reduction process, resulting in higher proof.
To create this robust bourbon, the team asked Master Blender Nancy Fraley to search through their barrels of Straight Bourbon and select the most complex and full-flavored ones—those that were begging to be blended and released at “barrel proof,” meaning the whiskey was bottled at the same proof at which it was aged. The resulting spirit is a masterpiece of complex, dark flavors with a deep spice finish.
At 118 proof (59% ABV), the new Cask Strength Bourbon is a “deeper, darker, more robust version of its beloved 98.4proof fruit-forward sibling (aka The Musician), offering a nose of brandied cherries with fresh muddled mint, old fashioned blackberry cobbler with a biscuit crust, and cinnamon toast in brown butter,” according to Fraley. “The palate offers notes of grilled peaches drizzled with balsamic vinegar, butterscotch pecan pie, and dark brown sugar, followed by warming waves of rye spice, nutmeg, and clove.”
The artwork on the label, created by internationally acclaimed artist and native Texan Marc Burckhardt, is a slightly modified version of the Straight Bourbon artwork, a series that portrays “archetypical” Austinites. Each provides a sense of the people who have influenced and inspired the team while paying homage to the Texas terroir. While the Cask Strength bottle also features The Musician, the black night sky is meant to be representative of the stronger, “darker” whiskey.