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Friday, October 12, 2018

Balcones Texas Single Malt, batch SM16-9

It's time to ease back into the planned World Whisky voyage with a jaunt in Texas. Texas is a large landmass entrenched in the lower belly of North America. It is bigger than Spain and Switzerland combined. It is home to a great many cattle and people and people who eat cattle.

Balcones is a brand and distillery started by Chip Tate. Chip Tate left Balcones, not entirely voluntarily. I had planned to not buy any post-Chip Balcones products to make a statement no one would hear, but then I realized I didn't like any Balcones whisky enough to buy it in the first place. In fact, I think their Rumble liquor is the best thing they make. My favorite Balcones whisky product has always been their Texas Single Malt. It is bigly flavored as any proud Texan consumable should be.


Deep in the giant brown palm of Texas!

Distillery: 
Balcones
Region: Waco, Tejas
Type: Single Malt
Batch: SM16-9
Age: ???
Bottled: Halloween 2016
Mashbill: malted Golden Promise barley
Maturation: "barrels of different sizes and oak profiles"
Alcohol by volume: 53%
(From a Columbus Scotch Club event)

There's a lot of maroon about the brown in this whisky's color. The nose is much prettier than the other, earlier, batches I've tried. Vanilla extract, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and cream puffs. Then honey mixed into vanilla yogurt. Confectioner's sugar. A lingering whiff of chili powder. The first sip shows off the palate the best, delivering shredded wheat, roasted hazelnuts and aromatic cigars. Subsequent sips reveal a floral vanilla, ginger and sweet peppery heat. A wallop of tannins and a hint of bonfire smoke. The finish has a decent length with mild heat. Toasted nuts and toasted oak, tobacco, ginger and a marshmallow sweetness.

Though not a subtle thing, this Texas single malt certainly is the least violent batch I've tried. (I've really only tried three Chip-era batches before this post-Chip batch, so take that as you'd like.) The nose is very good and the palate leads on like it's going to be complex, but then fades out after five minutes in the glass.

Like Westland's and McCarthy's single malts, this is not a bourbon alternative. It's really a separate genre. Still, it's the biggest tree hugger outside of Austin, so its full embrace of oak will appeal to most American whiskey fans.

There's no reason for it to cling to the "Craft" realm any longer, because this is professionally made stuff. If it were priced in the $40s, I'd consider getting a bottle. But it shares Westland's pricing problem, often selling for more than $70.

Availability - many US liquor retail specialists, though possibly not this batch
Pricing - $60-$90
Rating - 83