Balcones Big Baby

The aroma is sweet, viscous, and quite remarkable, with notes of iced cinnamon roll, praline, French vanilla, toasted agave, cornbread, and a hint of wood smoke. The ethanol level is very low. The agave presence intensified over time. The palate is astonishing. It offers caramel-drizzled flan, buttered popcorn, agave, butterscotch, Bailey's Irish Cream, maple, and rock salt. The flavors are rich, yet a certain lightness prevents them from becoming overly cloying. However, it doesn't excel in complexity. The finish is very long, featuring vanilla ice cream, more butterscotch, even more caramel (this time like straight caramel syrup), black pepper, mint, roasted nuts (pecans?), and a lingering oak note after all other flavors subside. This is one of the first Balcones products where the wood character resembles oak rather than mesquite. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, smooth, and silky. A slight effervescence on the finish was a positive aspect for me. If you have a fondness for caramel, this is an excellent choice. It's bold, diverse, and somehow cohesive. The corn/agave combination, which seems unconventional, works exceptionally well in practice. It's delicious and completely unique, earning it extra points in my estimation. At $90, I can easily justify repurchasing it. I need to explore more hard-to-find Balcones expressions.

N: Agave tinted vanilla and caramel, cooked vegetables, wet herbs, hint of oak, bit of tequila ethanol. P: Sweet corn, vanilla, caramel, oak, dash of cinnamon, some heat, subtle agave. F: Tequila, fresh veggies, oak, hot cinnamon candy, salted caramel. The tequila hits big on the nose, but soft on the palate, which leans more towards bourbon. That feels right to me. The finish has a good balance between the two. On the whole, this feels a little closer to a gimmick than a killer bottle for me (subjectively), but the craft and quality are there and this certainly deserves to be taken seriously as a whisky. And that's doubly true if you happen to love both bourbon and tequila. ____________ Please come join an unofficial community on Discord (now one whole year old!): https://discord.gg/VSmCvzAQfH. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired (it shouldn't be), please post a comment and I will gladly provide a new one.)

This is a corn whiskey, aged five years in tequila barrels. The aroma presents lime rind, saltwater, and caramel corn. The palate offers salted caramel, smoked agave, slightly unripe watermelon, and lemon meringue. The finish has caramelized agave notes. Initially, I was uncertain about my enjoyment of this pour, but it's growing on me. It has a distinctive character with prominent tequila flavors. However, with patience, the sweet corn notes emerge, creating an interesting balance with the salty, vegetal tequila. For $60, it offers good value given its unique profile. Additionally, five years in the Texas heat represents significant aging for a release from this distillery.

My bottle says aged for at least 5 years so I think that and the tequila cask make this a level up from baby blue. Vanilla to start, then mild baking spice, tannic oak, mild caramel, slight oily, gritty corn sweetness. Finish begins to show more tannin, spice but also the agave kicks in. There is a noticeable agave syrup/roasted agave note that's able to be picked up along with dashes of that green agave herbality. All these tastings of Texas whiskey make it hard to pick a favorite!

Tasted neat. The aroma is sweet, with notes of vanilla, white chocolate, agave, maple syrup, funfetti cake with cream cheese frosting, cake batter, and candy corn. On the palate, I had hoped for all the aromatic notes to be present, but not quite. However, it is smooth and earthy, with notes of vanilla cake, finishing like a smooth añejo and slightly harsher cristalino. I'm quite entertained by this pour.

Sweet aroma, like candy; notes of caramel, candy corn, corn, cotton candy, oak, tequila, and white chocolate. The taste is also sweet and candy-like, with flavors of strawberries and cream, caramel, white cake, vanilla, corn, and reposado tequila. The lingering finish has tequila, pepper, and cake. A very unique profile.