Del Bac Frontera American Single Malt Whiskey 750ml Bottle

Del Bac, a distillery in Arizona, of all places, has some excellent drams. They recently released their classic single malt finished in Pedro Ximénez Sherry botas. I have yet to taste a PX-finished single malt that I don’t like. The Frontera opens with dense vanilla, charred oak, dark caramel, and bitter cherry, followed by freshly-cracked black pepper corns, chocolate malt, dark brown sugar, and concentrated red grapes, complimented by a sweet mesquite smoke (completely different than peat). This could easily be too-sweet, but the bitter cherry balances it perfectly. It has a heavy-oily mouthfeel and, almost chewy, and thick clingy legs that provide a nice long finish that includes an avalanche of sherry, warmed by malty hot-chocolate, complimented by peaches, apricots, and plums. The charred new-oak barrels distinguish this from the typical single-malts, which age in ex-bourbon barrels, giving it a unique flavor profile. This is another PX-finished winner! Drink slow, drink long, drink a variety, drink often.