Balcones: Next stop, world domination?

[timd]

Big kudos to the great folks at Balcones for their recent barrel full of awards - and some awesome press in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/dining/american-malted-whiskeys-win-acclaim.html?_r=0

When I first discovered this brand about 2 years ago, I never imagined how far they'd go - and how good their stuff would be. The number of honors Chip Tate (owner/master distiller) has collected over the last 6-12 months is impressive (http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/11/02/4382417/awards-pour-in-for-waco-distillery.html)

I've had the chance to get to know Chip and visit the distillery a few times (even though it's nearly 2 hours away) over the last year or so and can honestly say he's one of the nicest, brightest guys in the booze business I've met.

Just so that this post has some practical purpose other than kudos to Chip & Balcones, here's my tasting notes on the most recent batch of Balcones Single Malt:

Nose: fruity & floral, but solid elements of baking spice. I'd never confuse this with Scotch, but clearly not a bourbon or rye. I can tell it's malt vs. corn, but just barely.

Palate: Rich, caramel bomb - loads of cloves, cinnamon and hints of tannic oak that offset the overt sweetness of the barley. Nothing cloying about it, but it's not bitter either. In many ways it calls to mind the best elements of a solid wheated bourbon, but then you get just the slightest hints of smoke and char that mingle quite differently than they would with bourbon. Mouthcoating and delicious. Very subtle tingle on the mid-palate from alcohol.

Finish: lingering and coating. The spirit won't give up. It sticks around, but doesn't overstay its welcome. Nice heat in the back of the throat (more from cinnamon or pepper than from alcohol per se).

Overall: This is what you'd expect from an American (or more importantly a Texan's...) single malt. It's rich and powerful, loaded with rich caramel, cinnamon, doughy and grainy flavors. It's not a sophisticated pour - it's got vibrancy and energy, but not to the point where a purely Scotch drinker will be turned off, but it's got enough "oomph" to satisfy even the most devout CS Bourbon drinker.

Score: 91

Keep up the great work, ya'll! And for those of you (like me...) who thought all craft whiskey was bad... Get some Balcones, you won't be sorry (oh - and MB Roland, McCarthys, & Corsair are all pretty good too).

[Jono]

Will have to keep an eye out for it.

[MacinJosh]

Agree Tim. Congrats to Chip, Winston, and the whole crew over there in Waco! Well done lads and keep up the great work!!!

[mopgcw]

yep, absolutely love the baby blue. great stuff.

[Curtisc84]

I've got Brimstone and True Blue, both good pours.

[Balcones Winston]

Tim, a man after my own heart.

World domination is definitely on the bucket list, but we have a series of other activities to accomplish first. Keep an eye out for our 5th Anniversary series

[squire]

Welcome aboard Balcones Winston, drop by more often.

[scubadoo97]

Congrats Winston, Chip and all those at Balcones. For a small distillery you guys are making a big impact

[Balcones Winston]

Thanks guys. We aim to please!

[omgmarclol]

revisting the single malt after a few months and at first i thought it was good but average. it's been sitting on my shelf with a few pours out and it looked neglected. i like it much more than i remembered. malty, pear, vanilla, and brown sugar are what i come out for me. hats of to balcones, loving brimstone and apparently loving 1 as well.

[Smokewagon]

I went to Go Whisk(e)y Weekend in Westborough and got to bend Chip's ear and then taste everything he brought. Went home with True Blue and Brimstone. Hadn't opened either one since then, and thought I should rectify that. Cracked into the Brimstone last night, just as good as I remember, and as good as my initial notes indicate. Balcones is doing things right. Really wanting to try the Rumble Cask Reserve, hoping they get some in at Julio's.

[MacinJosh]

The RCR is very nice. Such a unique and interesting pour. One that everyone should try. Blindfolded, I swear I'd peg it as a whiskey. You can definitely pick up the fig and honey notes but they're subtle. It really opens up with some air time too and changes. An enjoyable, easy sipping pour.

[tanstaafl2]

The RCR is very nice. Such a unique and interesting pour. One that everyone should try. Blindfolded, I swear I'd peg it as a whiskey. You can definitely pick up the fig and honey notes but they're subtle. It really opens up with some air time too and changes. An enjoyable, easy sipping pour.

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That would be a striking improvement from the regular Rumble which I have and did not enjoy very much. I would be reluctant to try RCR, which is no doubt even more expensive (another $20 on top of the already spendy regular Rumble I think), based on that experience.

I would however happily try it out if someone else were to offer a taste...

[GaryT]

I'll have to give some of their products another shot - hope they are represented at a tasting opportunity in late April (or at some other point). I've only tried the Brimstone once and didn't care for it, although it was not a studied taste by any stretch (believe it was a gazebo taste last September?) Reading about them in Whisky Advocate as well as the comments here have me curious again

[MacinJosh]

I'll have to give some of their products another shot - hope they are represented at a tasting opportunity in late April (or at some other point). I've only tried the Brimstone once and didn't care for it, although it was not a studied taste by any stretch (believe it was a gazebo taste last September?) Reading about them in Whisky Advocate as well as the comments here have me curious again

I've said it here before and numerous times elsewhere, Brimstone is a VERY polarizing whiskey. You either love it or hate it. But there is NOTHING like it on shelves anywhere. I personally love it. It's got this mesquite, BBQ, smoke thing going on that I dig. I get lots of bacon bits as well. Mmmmm.

Regardless, it is an outlier for Balcones. None of their other products taste anything like it.

[timd]

It's got this mesquite, BBQ, smoke thing going on that I dig. I get lots of bacon bits as well. Mmmmm.

[squire]

I have a very high threshold of being "blown away" and I don't think another year of unprecedented wood management will do the trick.

[timd]

I have a very high threshold of being "blown away" and I don't think another year of unprecedented wood management will do the trick.

[wadewood]

I can't wait for the Bourbon to come out - I had a sample of the barrel 1613 it came from a while back, and it was exceptional. I recently got to try a little of the bourbon, and with an additional year's aging and some unprecedented wood management, it is going to blow people away (if you can get it...).

Child please, 1 barrel of bourbon made with good % of that going to reviewers. Let me know when Balcones has real production run of bourbon.

[omgmarclol]

I've said it here before and numerous times elsewhere, Brimstone is a VERY polarizing whiskey. You either love it or hate it. But there is NOTHING like it on shelves anywhere. I personally love it. It's got this mesquite, BBQ, smoke thing going on that I dig. I get lots of bacon bits as well. Mmmmm.

Regardless, it is an outlier for Balcones. None of their other products taste anything like it.

i've said the exact same thing you have elsewhere in the forum, so i won't be redundant. but i really like brimstone as well. it's not something that's an everyday pour for me, but it's become something that i'll want when the mood strikes so it will always be around.

[MyOldKyDram]

Picked up a Rumble to lug to the sampler. Why the hell not.

[Alphanumeric]

You've had a sample of the 1613 (It was never sold, I just got to try it at the distillery)?... It was already outstanding a year ago, IMHO.

It's a Bourbon - not True/Baby Blue Corn Whiskey.

I'll throw in my support for Chip's bourbon. I tasted some at Binny's World of Whiskey tonight and was very impressed. Given that he only made one full-sized barrel of the stuff- as far as I understand it- he did a damn fine job.

[Balcones Winston]

Child please, 1 barrel of bourbon made with good % of that going to reviewers. Let me know when Balcones has real production run of bourbon.

Out of the 180ish bottles, we sent about 5-6 bottles to competition and placed very well in all of them (SF, ADI, SoA).

BTW, we don't have any tentative plans to do a full run of bourbon production. KY does bourbon well, and we'd like to let them have it. We're more interested in making Texas whisky, not just make whisky in Texas.

What was that you said at the distillery last year? "I'd buy this whole barrel if I could"

[Balcones Winston]

Picked up a Rumble to lug to the sampler. Why the hell not.

I wish I could have gone I would have brought a bottle of our bourbon if I could have made it.

[bad_scientist]

I am utterly offended by the outrageous prices that Balcones sees fit as reasonable, and I think their True Blue is despicable, but I enjoyed their single malt a month or so ago at a barbecue restaurant in Adams Morgan. It deserved better than the disinterested hipsters who served it. Specifically, I liked the sharp pot still notes mingled with the dirty barley distillate. A good combination, though a bit sour in the finish, likely from the unconscionably young age at which it was released.