.balcones - brimstone - 2015

Are they tarring the street? Or maybe they are burning weed in the park? No, none of that... MY HAIR IS ON FIRE! Oh, and bacon. Nice. Bacon good....

.balcones - texas rum

Texas Rum distilled from Barbados & blackstrap molasses, aged in American and European oak casks.

.balcones - texas blue corn bourbon

Balcones Blue Corn Bourbon is made using the same blue corn house style spirit as the Balcones Baby Blue, True Blue 100 & Brimstone and is matured in charred, new American oak barrels.

.balcones - true blue - 100 proof

A 100% from blue corn distilled whisky from Texas.

.balcones - staff selection - cask #3549

Balcones whisky in Waco, Texas has released their first Staff Selection bottling. A single barrel from Hungarian oak cask #3549.

.balcones - 5th anniversary - brimstone resurrection

60,5% abv, €not for sale, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: wet dogs, wet wax coat, mint, burnt wood, ash, burnt bacon, inner tubes, coal tar, lavender (burnt)
Palate: coal, burnt wood, sweet, honey, burnt meat, ash, leather, burnt marshmallow
Finish: medium long, strong ash, burnt wood
Mark: +++/++

.balcones 5th anniversary straight malt - brimstone resurrection cask finish - #2696

58,3% abv, €140+, straight malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: sweet, custard porridge, caramel, floral, heather, cloves, lavender, eucalyptus, rubber
Palate: rough, semi-sweet, berries, cherries, sharp (more hot, really), leather & rubber hints, nuts, bbq sauce
Finish: sweet, vanilla porridge, sharp in the back, dry, aniseed
Mark: +++++

.balcones - 5th anniversary straight malt - rumble cask reserve finish

57,5% abv, €140, straight malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: harsh, glue, fresh, mint, menthol, eucalyptus (all of them), sweet, honey, pears, liquorish root, figs, earthy
Palate: sweet, syrup, nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, apples, pistachio nuts
Finish: nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, sweet, syrup, semi-dry, dark chocolate, overripe apples, caramel
Mark: ++++/+

.balcones - 5th anniversary - single barrel bourbon - 2nd release - barrel #1499

65,7% abv, €150+, bourbon, non-chill filtered, natural colour, single barrel

Nose: fresh, sweet, mint, eucalyptus, honey, toffee, fresh ground coffee, very dark chocolate, liquorice root, leather, aniseed, wood, syrup
Palate: sharp, green pepper, sweet, honey, honeycomb, citrus, lime, a hint of rubber, cloves
Finish: dark, firm, long, sweet, honey, hints of rubber and leather, slight tannins on the back of the tongue
Mark: +++++

.balcones - rumble - cask reserve

58,5% abv, €??, spirit, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: fresh, mint, menthol, toothpaste, sweet, honeycomb, vanilla, rosewater, fruit, bananas, kiwifruit, citrus, limes, leather, white chocolate, cinnamon, roses
Palate: sweet, honeycomb, honey, sharp, spicy, jalapeños, floral, clovers, citrus, lime, lemons, nutmeg, cinnamon, aniseed
Finish: long, sweet, honeycomb, nutmeg, cinnamon, bananas
Mark: ++++/+

.balcones - brimstone

53% abv, €75, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color, caramel E150a added

Nose: leather, wet raincoat, burnt matches, smoke, rubber, smoked fish with the skin still on, gym, bicycle inner tube, a just put up new tent, bacon, ham, sweet, fresh green wood
Palate: bacon, spicy, sweet, slight rubber, burnt matches, honey, mackerel, rice crisps, seaweed, sweet, honey, floral
Finish: rubber, matches, slight bitter, bicycle inner tubes, rather present and long, seaweed, green tea, tannins, dry
Mark: ++/+++

Conclusion: unique smell, taste and finish, you either love it or loathe it. Or something in between. Like me. Did not like the finish though. It gets the score for its unique-ness, rather then for its smell or taste. I have heard mention that the rubbery predominance disappears when the bottle slowly gets its lower lever, so you get a better taste of the whisky itself. Not bad, but not a favourite either.

More info from the website: Purification through fire — a Texas oak fire, that is. Rather than using Scottish peat smoke, this one-of-a-kind whisky is smoked with sun-baked Texas scrub oak using our own secret process. The result is a whisky full of fresh youthful corn and light fruit notes married with a bold smokiness. Whether you like smokey whiskies, or just have a penchant for big, new flavors, Brimstone is sure to be memorable pour. Aromas of masa, Texas campfire and powdered sugar tempered with an almost salty goodness. Bold yet balanced, Brimstone is yet another Texas first from Balcones. We hope you enjoy. Brimstone is the world's first wood smoked whisky ... a Texas campfire in a bottle.

.balcones - true blue 100

50% abv, €75, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color, caramel E150a added

Nose: sweet, smell like a warm blanket, caramel, toffee, apricots, nutmeg, pancakes, maple (corn?) syrup, sherry, fruit, raisins, christmas cake
Palate: a bit harsh, corn, spicy, white pepper, oranges zests, vanilla, banana
Finish: banana, sweet, vanilla, white pepper, long, iron, tannin, tea, walnuts, liquorice and star anise
Mark: +++++

Conclusion: rather sweet overall, does well with blues and Jimi Hendrix' Red House.

More info from the website: True Blue 100 - 50% abv (100 proof), 100% blue corn is a unique corn whisky made from roasted Atole, a Hopi blue corn meal. We use this rich and nutty corn to produce a whisky that we hope will bring something new to the corn whisky tradition. At cask strength, True Blue is the way Balcones distillers have always enjoyed our roasted Hopi blue corn whisky. Now there‘s finally enough to share. Feel free to add water if you want ... we like our water separate.

.balcones - baby blue corn whisky

46% abv, €65, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color, caramel E150a added

Nose: fat, caramel, vanilla, toffee, salted butter, herbal, spicy, popcorn, malty, biscuits, warm milk
Palate: sweet, vanilla, strong, quite harsh, corn replacing the maltyness
Finish: strong, spicy, fat layer on the palate, fresh, peppers
Mark: +++/++

Conclusion: Nice

More info from the website: Baby Blue is a unique corn whisky made from atole, a roasted blue corn meal. We use this rich and nutty corn to produce a whisky that we hope will bring something new to the corn whisky tradition. Baby Blue isn't bourbon nor white lightning. It has the freshness and verve of traditional corn whisky but with a refined complexity. The result is a round nuttiness and roasty overtones with a smooth finish. Baby Blue was the first Texas whisky on the market since prohibition, and is the only blue corn whisky in the world.

.balcones - '1' Texas Single Malt

58% abv, €90, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: sweet, vanilla, gentle, pear, warm caramel apples, cinnamon, walnuts, pistachio nuts, chocolate, melting butter
Palate: sweet, sugarcane, vanilla, spicy, white pepper, caramel apples, cinnamon, milk chocolate, ginger bread
Finish: medium long, sweet, gentle, sweet, cinnamon, pistachio nuts
Mark: ++++/+

Conclusion: This is nice. The gentle body and sett, caramel like taste and finish are wonderful. Certainly something to look out for when having a budget to spend on something special. Very surprising.

More info - from their website: 100% of Balcones whisky is mashed, fermented and distilled at our distillery. We never resell whisky from other distilleries or source aged whisky barrels for blending under the Balcones label.

This is authentic craft whisky. It has not been chill-filtered, colored or otherwise unnecessarily tampered with to ensure that its full aroma and flavor are preserved. As a result, you may notice a slight haze or sediment in the bottle - signs of the rich oils and esters that we have not removed so that your whisky can be enjoyed at its best.

.balcones - 5th anniversary straight bourbon - MOM exclusive

64,2% abv, €110, straight bourbon, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: sharp, sweet, sweet corn, vanilla, feint, glue, caramel apples, citrus, oranges, caramel, hay, apple crumble cake, a whiff of burnt matches,
Palate: sharp, sweet, honey, vanilla, honey, salted butter, liquorice, star-anise, citrus, black/white powder (liquorice)
Finish: long, dry, sweet, black tea, tannins, metallic, fresh, mint, star-anise,
Mark: +++++

Conclusion: Good stuff. I am not a big fan of bourbon per se, but it can also turn out that I have not tasted enough good ones yet. This certainly is one of the good ones, most definately.

More info: This batch of Balcones' 5th Anniversary Straight Bourbon is one of only ten bottles sold by Master of Malt in the UK from september 1st 2013.