Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

Sometimes things are actually smaller in Texas, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Take Fort Worth’s TX Whiskey, a small operation that can’t technically be called a craft distillery (it’s owned by Pernod Ricard) that produces a so-so blend and some good bourbon and rye. But the best whiskey coming out of this distillery is part of its Experimental Series, and the latest cask-finished expression to join the lineup is fantastic.

A little history regarding TX Whiskey: It was founded in 2010 and is located on the grounds of an old golf course called the Whiskey Ranch just outside of downtown Fort Worth. The aforementioned core blend includes some sourced spirits, but the distillery’s in-house-produced whiskeys are really the ones worth paying attention to. These include some cask-finished bourbons that spend time in sherry, Cognac, and port barrels, as well as bottled-in-bond and barrel-proof expressions. And then there’s the Experimental Series.

TX Whiskey Vino de Naranja is the 15th in the collection, which has previously included whiskeys like the 7-Year Anniversary Batch, Lonestar Traditions (a blend of three different whiskeys), and Unaged Rye Bourbon White Dog. So the “experimental” part of the name is a little bit up to interpretation, and can refer to the maturation (or lack thereof), the blend, or the cask finish. In this case, it’s the latter two steps. This whiskey is a blend of bourbon and rye produced at the distillery that was initially aged for three years in new charred oak, and then finished in Spanish Vino de Naranja wine casks for an additional three years—really more of a double barreling or a secondary maturation than a finish, but it’s all semantics.

If you’re unfamiliar with Vino de Naranja, it’s a sweet wine from Spain that is made by macerating slices of bitter orange in the base wine and then aging it in a solera system. This is not the first time it’s been used in American whiskey—previous examples aged in these types of casks include expressions from Middle West, Heaven’s Door, Castle & Key, and 15 Stars. Distillers seem to like these barrels because thtey can add sweetness and a bit of orange flavor to the whiskey without overpowering it, at least if the finish is done right.

And that is certainly the case with TX Whiskey’s version. There’s a sweetness to the whiskey, but it’s not cloying. There’s also a woodiness that is present as you sip, but it’s spry and never dank and dour—clearly this whiskey has spent a long time in barrels in the extremes of the Texas climate, but it’s not overpowered by oak. And yes, there are notes of orange that pop up, along with vanilla, cinnamon, apricot jam, black pepper, and ripe cherry. The distillery recommends sipping this over ice or in a summer drink, but I think it’s a really nice whiskey to drink neat, and at 83.5 proof that is a feat easily accomplished.

If you want a bottle to try for yourself, you might have to travel to Texas—according to the brand, it has been released in a run of 1,500 375-ml bottles that are available at the gift shop at the (bargain) price of $40. These whiskeys don’t seem to pop up on the secondary market very frequently, so I’d say a trip to the Lone Star State might be worth it. Hit the stockyards, go to Mule Alley, grab a steak at Cattlemen’s, and then head over to the Whiskey Ranch and buy yourself a bottle (or the eight you’re allowed), and enjoy.

Score: 91