Balcones Brimstone - Texas Scrub Oak Blue Corn Whiskey

[bllygthrd]

This whiskey may have been discussed elsewhere, but I was unable to find it with the search function ...

Has anyone tried Balcones Brimstone - Texas Scrub Oak Blue Corn Whiskey? Was given a snifter of it, blind and straight up, at the best bourbon bar in CRW. Took a sniff ... it smelled like pulled pork BBQ ... tasted like liquid BBQ also ...

A very interesting whiskey, but I put it in the novelty category ... and at $65/750mL ... a bit too pricey for a conversation piece. I can't see anyone enjoying this whiskey on a daily bases ...

[MacinJosh]

Color: Light amber.

Nose: Whiffs of smoke and BBQ, bacon and grease. There's char in here as well. Interesting!

Taste: Smoke quickly floods the palate, like the fire alarm just went off. Subsides with time as bacon bits and corn begin to emerge. Smoke lingers throughout. Soft oakiness on exit.

Finish: Incredibly long and complex. There's an oily, saltiness that develops like after eating roasted peanuts. Hangs around forever.

Rating: Bold and flavorful, easily my favorite Balcones so far. This one has lots to offer and plenty to like. Would pair well with a nice steak. I'm scoring this one an 89.

[bllygthrd]

Color: Light amber.

Nose: Whiffs of smoke and BBQ, bacon and grease. There's char in here as well. Interesting!

Taste: Smoke quickly floods the palate, like the fire alarm just went off. Subsides with time as bacon bits and corn begin to emerge. Smoke lingers throughout. Soft oakiness on exit.

Finish: Incredibly long and complex. There's an oily, saltiness that develops like after eating roasted peanuts. Hangs around forever.

Rating: Bold and flavorful, easily my favorite Balcones so far. This one has lots to offer and plenty to like. Would pair well with a nice steak. I'm scoring this one an 89.

Josh:

For the most part, I agree with your verbiage ... although my sample was more pinkish rather than amber and I didn't get the saltiness or bacon overtones ... but, my taste buds are on the downside of the slope.

Edited July 29, 2012 by bllygthrd
syntax

[HP12]

Color: Light amber.

Nose: Whiffs of smoke and BBQ, bacon and grease. There's char in here as well. Interesting!

Taste: Smoke quickly floods the palate, like the fire alarm just went off. Subsides with time as bacon bits and corn begin to emerge. Smoke lingers throughout. Soft oakiness on exit.

Finish: Incredibly long and complex. There's an oily, saltiness that develops like after eating roasted peanuts. Hangs around forever.

Rating: Bold and flavorful, easily my favorite Balcones so far. This one has lots to offer and plenty to like. Would pair well with a nice steak. I'm scoring this one an 89.

Nice review as usual Josh and I agree, it's my fav Balcones as well. I really enjoy this expression from what's likely to be the best distillery in the Lone Star State! Chip has found a winner with Brimstone! I need mas!

[Young Blacksmith]

I had the same impressions initially as you did bllygthrd. But, as you keep drinking it, it seems to shift and instead of wanting less of it, I wanted more. And more....

[sailor22]

In a classic case of YMMV my impression didn't exactly line up with Josh's and Young Blacksmith's.

The more I sipped the less I enjoyed it, and I didn't care for it at all on the first sip. Eventually I went looking for a tung scraper in an attempt to remove the greasy sooty taste from my mouth.

I didn't get smoke as much as wet greasy soot. It reminded me of the nasty flavors Mesquite wood imparts to BBQ.

Not smokey but more like drinking from a bottle of concentrated Mesquite flavoring mixed with a very young white dog.

[OTwhisky]

In a classic case of YMMV my impression didn't exactly line up with Josh's and Young Blacksmith's.

The more I sipped the less I enjoyed it, and I didn't care for it at all on the first sip. Eventually I went looking for a tung scraper in an attempt to remove the greasy sooty taste from my mouth.

I didn't get smoke as much as wet greasy soot. It reminded me of the nasty flavors Mesquite wood imparts to BBQ.

Not smokey but more like drinking from a bottle of concentrated Mesquite flavoring mixed with a very young white dog.

[wadewood]

Thanks for taking the time to try our Brimstone. We have had some distributor problems that have resulted in less than perfect shelf quality

1st post from someone who represents Balcones? You might want to introduce yourself to provide some credentials.

[ChainWhip]

Brimstone to me is a "in the right mood" kind of dram for me. I'm normally an Islay Scotch kind of a drinker - I just keep getting dried goji berries in the Brimstone that brings me back to childhood days of being sick & grandma making me drink concoctions of Chinese medicine.

[StraightNoChaser]

1st post from someone who represents Balcones? You might want to introduce yourself to provide some credentials.

Wade, I talked to Chip after I saw that post and he said that it was someone in his office under his direction. So, this came straight out of the distillery mostly from Chip's words. I'm sure they'll come back and clear it up

[smokinjoe]

1st post from someone who represents Balcones? You might want to introduce yourself to provide some credentials.

Hey Wade, you haven't earned the Title, "Mr. Anal Retentive Bourbon Drinker" for nothing!!

[MacinJosh]

Nice review as usual Josh and I agree, it's my fav Balcones as well.

Thank you my friend.

[wadewood]

1st post from someone who represents Balcones? You might want to introduce yourself to provide some credentials.

[StraightNoChaser]

If you are going to post something here and imply you represent a certain company, I think the least you can is provide some details. Maybe I'll create a new sb username and start posting in Van Winkle threads as I am Julian Van Winkle IV:lol:

Also, from my personal experience, any QC issues from a major KY distillery would result in that bottle being promptly refunded or replaced. This guy posts as Balcones and comes across as sorry you wasted that $65 on product that had QC issue; please buy again.

Well if you're going to call dibs on JVW for your imposter account then I call Harlan Wheatley! :bowdown:

Edited August 2, 2012 by StraightNoChaser

[Bourbon Boiler]

I failed to introduce myself as well. I am Mr. Jim Beam. Maybe you've heard of me.

All sarcasm aside, I would hope that there's more explanation of a quality problem that was allowed to get through retail and onto the customer.

[bad_scientist]

I passed up a True Blue bottled in September, 2011 today, sold at a place that just opened like 2 weeks ago. I'm guessing this comes from a "bad" distributor, since the bottling time was so much earlier than the debut of the store? Please, oh please, Mr./Ms. mysterious unofficial Balcones person, tell me if it's okay. I'm quite excited about it and I wanted to get it, but the ominous post put me off and I bought a Very Old Scout instead.

[Ejmharris]

I passed up a True Blue bottled in September, 2011 today, sold at a place that just opened like 2 weeks ago. I'm guessing this comes from a "bad" distributor, since the bottling time was so much earlier than the debut of the store? Please, oh please, Mr./Ms. mysterious unofficial Balcones person, tell me if it's okay. I'm quite excited about it and I wanted to get it, but the ominous post put me off and I bought a Very Old Scout instead.

[sailor22]

The juice I was describing was a sample sent by a friend so I never actually purchased a bottle. I don't know where this particular sample came from so I can't help in identifying any mysterious bad batch..

I'm curious how a distributor could be the cause of a quality control issue. Don't they get bottles already sealed and packaged by the manufacturer?

[OTwhisky]

The juice I was describing was a sample sent by a friend so I never actually purchased a bottle. I don't know where this particular sample came from so I can't help in identifying any mysterious bad batch..

I'm curious how a distributor could be the cause of a quality control issue. Don't they get bottles already sealed and packaged by the manufacturer?

Jesus, guys. The is CHIP TATE, HEAD DISTILLER AT BALCONES. Please don't beat up on new employees that ALMOST understood what I asked them to post on the internet. This issue is that some distributors don't front their cases well and so a bottle from 2010 will end up on the shelf, rather than more recent bottlings. Why does that matter? Let me clarify:

1) There are no BAD bottles of Balcones out there.

2) What my employee was TRYING to say is that I blind taste each new blend against previous batches to make sure it is better than the last. Again, THERE ARE NO BAD BOTTLES OF BALCONES, but each batch is better than the last.

3) Given these former points, later batches of Brimstone and all of our products may be even more pleasing to your palate than earlier one. As one of the few "craft" distilleries that actually bottles whisky the actually make (and please feel free to contact me if you'd like to know who's who), we hope that our quality improves daily. JUST TO AVOID ANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS, I do not mean to suggest that our quality has ever been anything but excellent.

And just for the record, Jim Murray just rated the "bad" brimstone in question very highly (95+) and awarded it a Liquid Gold award in his 2013 Whisky Bible. But since that is not out yet, you'll just have to take my word for that. I stand by every bottle we've ever put out and I hope you enjoy them all. If you don't, I won't apologize for that, but I would encourage to continue to try our products. Most of the worlds' most prestegious tasters including Paul Pacult, Andy Dias Blue and, as previously mentioned, Jim Murray consider our products worldclass. Hopefully, that means enough to some to try our products with an open mind. I will make a point to get people to sign their posts in the future, but do let it go. If you don't want to, email me directly at chiptate@balconesdistilling.com and we can talk it out mono y mono.

THIS IS CHIP TATE, PRESIDENT AND HEAD DISTILLER FOR BALCONES

[StraightNoChaser]

SB can be a tad nitpicky at times, Chip. But welcome to the board!

[bad_scientist]

I think everyone who's posted on the thread has signaled strong interest in Balcones, or at least enough interest to try your stuff. The issue was dropping $60 on something that was compromised after it left your distillery.

Anyway, thanks for the clarification. I still want that True Blue bottle and now will have to convince my wife to let me, since I blew my budget last night on my misunderstanding.

Jesus, guys. The is CHIP TATE, HEAD DISTILLER AT BALCONES. Please don't beat up on new employees that ALMOST understood what I asked them to post on the internet. This issue is that some distributors don't front their cases well and so a bottle from 2010 will end up on the shelf, rather than more recent bottlings. Why does that matter? Let me clarify:

1) There are no BAD bottles of Balcones out there.

2) What my employee was TRYING to say is that I blind taste each new blend against previous batches to make sure it is better than the last. Again, THERE ARE NO BAD BOTTLES OF BALCONES, but each batch is better than the last.

3) Given these former points, later batches of Brimstone and all of our products may be even more pleasing to your palate than earlier one. As one of the few "craft" distilleries that actually bottles whisky the actually make (and please feel free to contact me if you'd like to know who's who), we hope that our quality improves daily. JUST TO AVOID ANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS, I do not mean to suggest that our quality has ever been anything but excellent.

And just for the record, Jim Murray just rated the "bad" brimstone in question very highly (95+) and awarded it a Liquid Gold award in his 2013 Whisky Bible. But since that is not out yet, you'll just have to take my word for that. I stand by every bottle we've ever put out and I hope you enjoy them all. If you don't, I won't apologize for that, but I would encourage to continue to try our products. Most of the worlds' most prestegious tasters including Paul Pacult, Andy Dias Blue and, as previously mentioned, Jim Murray consider our products worldclass. Hopefully, that means enough to some to try our products with an open mind. I will make a point to get people to sign their posts in the future, but do let it go. If you don't want to, email me directly at chiptate@balconesdistilling.com and we can talk it out mono y mono.

THIS IS CHIP TATE, PRESIDENT AND HEAD DISTILLER FOR BALCONES

[sailor22]

Thanks for your participation and the clarification Chip. Always good to hear from someone passionate about the whiskey they are making. I look forward to trying some of your other expressions.

[AaronWF]

I'm a big fan of this stuff. It tastes like no whiskey I have ever had, packs a punch at 106pf, and demonstrates a wholly creative process absolutely unique to the American whiskey profile. It doesn't have to be something I would drink everyday for me to get excited about it. I tend to enjoy extreme profiles like malt peat monsters even if I don't drink them very often, and I think this stuff is somewhat of a novelty, but it's well-made and gimmick-free. And it serves up plenty of drama, which is another whiskey characteristic that I gravitate towards.

A 100% corn whiskey that tastes deeply of BBQ... seriously WTF?!

[bad_scientist]

I'm a big fan of this stuff. It tastes like no whiskey I have ever had, packs a punch at 106pf, and demonstrates a wholly creative process absolutely unique to the American whiskey profile. It doesn't have to be something I would drink everyday for me to get excited about it. I tend to enjoy extreme profiles like malt peat monsters even if I don't drink them very often, and I think this stuff is somewhat of a novelty, but it's well-made and gimmick-free. And it serves up plenty of drama, which is another whiskey characteristic that I gravitate towards.

A 100% corn whiskey that tastes deeply of BBQ... seriously WTF?!

So if I drink it for dinner, I'm not an alcoholic?

[AaronWF]

So if I drink it for dinner, I'm not an alcoholic?

Well I dunno about that... A night on the sauce won't make you an alcoholic, but the whiskey sure doesn't taste like chicken!