Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel

After reviewing many accounts of Balcones single malts, I decided to try it. Coincidentally, my local Total Wine had recently chosen barrel 17280, aged 25 months in American oak and bottled at barrel proof of 125.8. Its color resembles coffee, with slow, viscous legs. When sampling something so novel, I prefer to rub a few drops between my hands and smell once dry. This indicates the extent of barrel flavor integration and what to anticipate. It passes the test, but its youth is apparent. An initial sniff from the glass reveals a lot is happening and it's incredibly rich and indulgent. Primarily, I detect chocolate-covered raisins, dark fruits, and a subtle baking spice. A mention of fig newtons was spot on. Despite my efforts, I cannot find any vanilla, oak, or caramel aromas, but after 30-45 minutes of aeration, a rye-like new make spirit emerges, with a hot edge. The first sip is sweet, with abundant molasses and brown sugar mixed with Bing cherries. Chocolate appears towards the end. The finish is the highlight, a very long experience of chocolate-covered cherries. It also leaves my lips numb and tingling, though this sensation fades quickly. After consuming a half-ounce pour, my taste and smell senses are overwhelmed. High-proof new make spirit at distillery tours affects me similarly, and it takes time to recover. I'm not getting anything other than new make spirit, so I will try again tomorrow. On day two, with a bit of water and air, the new make spirit is most prominent, as is the numbing sensation. It's significantly out of balance. What happened to yesterday's whiskey? A week later, the initial experience largely returns, though the rye-like new make is now more like a rich malt, reminiscent of a malted milkshake from my childhood. It's still hot but not like on day two. The lip-numbing effect is present but minimal. Neither ECBP nor Stagg Jr have ever affected me in that way. The finish has now become hot, dry, and lengthy, with malted chocolate cherries. After 45 minutes, the wonderful experience persists. This spirit has been quite inconsistent. The neck pour rated 4-4.25 but dropped to a 3 after 30-45 minutes. Day two was perhaps a 2. But today, all those rich flavors and aromas have returned, and a 4-4.25 rating seems appropriate again. I am thoroughly impressed by the depth of color, aromas, and flavors in a two-year-old whiskey and how it integrates with new make spirit characteristics as if by flipping a switch.

This is an Exclusive single barrel bottling. Barrel number is 16602 and says it was New European Oak (whatever exactly that means). Distilled 2/27/17 and bottled 11/2/20 - so what's that make it, 3 years and 7-ish months old? 64.2% ABV / 128.4 proof. N: Vanilla custard and torched brown sugar - yeah, it's creme brulee in a glass. And intense. Also, chocolate orange, toasted almond, just a hint of smoked meat. Ethanol in the form of cherry cough syrup, but far less than you might expect for the proof. Vanilla frosting on a yellow cake. Butterscotch candy. Basically, this is a bottling of all of the desserts. P: Sweet red apple dripping with caramel, then rolled in salt. Hints of vanilla, citrus, chocolate, and cooked brown sugar, all also salted. Salted dark red cherries and other red fruit. It's quite salty, but doesn't cross over into being offensive in that way. Finish turns oddly herbal with mint, menthol, and maybe a hint of rosemary. It remains quite sweet and salty and develops a bit of a papery quality - feels like the wood finally being a bit woody. I'll start by saying that it appears this barrel is gone from the world - the store no longer offers it on their website, so I have to assume they've sold out. So there's not much point in thinking too hard about this particular pour, just happy I still have a third of a bottle left. I suppose though that this can/should be thought of as presenting one component part of the core line. I just realized while writing this that, well I've enjoyed many bottles of that brand, I have not yet tried their core single malt. I can't compare it. But I would say the flavors here do show up in other malts, and some of their bourbons too. The vanilla in particular feels like a flavor that appears regularly in their bourbons. I'm not sure how to wrap this review up and end this. I guess, at this point, I've basically decided to try anything from that distillery I can get my hands on. They just really know what they're doing and every bottle from them I've tried has been quality. And this is one of the best I've tried from that distillery.

Deep amber, nearing mahogany. Very much from Texas. The aroma is intense! An abundance of cola and wood is present, along with a touch of canned fruit salad. I can tell this isn't bourbon, but I'm not sure I'd identify it as a single malt. There are intriguing sour cherry notes, caraway seed, dried mango, and something that isn't quite mesquite but not typical American oak. The palate offers a vast amount of fruit… fruit city. Sour, tangy, sweet, bitter, zesty, citrus, and orchard fruits all mingle. Caramel soft candies. And also cola and a bit of barbecue sauce. Could there be a splash of Worcestershire sauce in here? This is intensely Texan. Or at least 90% Texas and perhaps 10% Speyside. The finish lasts for ages with caramel candies (the kind with wax wrappers), red grapes, and a bit of caraway and adobo. Wow, this is unusual. I understand they use several kinds of oak barrels (Hungarian, French, American) for their standard single malt, and perhaps as this is a single barrel, it comes from American oak – but it certainly doesn't taste like it. I believe some of the fruity notes originate from the mash, but the mesquite and Worcestershire notes… I'm uncertain. Rating this is inherently challenging for me. I would prefer almost any full-proof bourbon over this, and practically any Scotch. Not that I find this bad; it's just exceptionally different. For what it is (think Texas barbecue on the 4th of July) I'd rate it a solid 3.5, which might be underselling it, but it's the kind of thing I enjoyed experiencing but would never actively seek out. My thanks for the generous sample! It certainly makes me want to explore American malts more!

Store pick. 65.3% ABV Oh wow, this nose is great with brown sugar, vanilla cream, stone fruit, fig, tobacco, leather, oak, smoke sausage, and caramel. Ethanol is noticeable, but it IS 130+ proof after all, so slightly lower than expected given that. Palate offers rich caramel, vanilla, marshmallow, pancake batter, a hint of maple, date, molasses, raisin, nougat, smoke, and cinnamon sugar. Wildly decadent. Finish is ridiculously long and complex with notes of creme brûlée, caramelized sugar, dark chocolate, flan, plum wine, charcoal, nutmeg, pomegranate, and date supported by an undertone of black pepper and toasted wood providing welcome balance. Mouthfeel is full bodied and oily, but with a hint of effervescence/airiness that really accentuates things. Thank goodness, because a sandpaper/graininess here might have really spoiled things. Very intense and challenging and not for the faint of heart but those willing to brave it are rewarded with something truly exceptional. Not something I would reach for every day; more like a “have to be in the mood” whiskey but it’s an experience. Loads of sweetness, spice, and heat here but it all integrates very well. At $104, it is pricey but in no way out of whack given the quality and uniqueness of the experience. Definite rebuy status.

This bottle hails from Tower in Georgia, aged for 51 months in New American Oak, with an ABV of 63.9%. N: A subtle cinnamon aroma with no alcohol burn, possibly a hint of oak. P: Strong oak presence returns with cinnamon, leading into a Mexican Hot Chocolate impression. It's not overly intricate, just a powerful mix of cinnamon, milk chocolate, and spice. F: The finish is persistent, echoing the palate's flavors. In summary, this isn't a highly complex spirit, but it excels at its intended profile. I'd be surprised if I encountered this in a blind tasting. It doesn't align with my expectations for a single malt. Similar to other American Single Malts, I detect a chocolate note, but this one is smoother, more balanced, creamier, and features a prominent cinnamon note that lingers. Definitely worth trying if you enjoy American Single Malts or spiced Mexican Chocolate. The 100% Rye iteration of this amplifies the Mexican Hot Chocolate character even further, but that's a story for another time. Don't overlook these!

Aroma presents malted barley, sawdust, honey, caramel, and raisin. A splash of water revealed hay, corn, grass, and a hint of peach. Hooray for the USA! Taste includes brown raisin bread, summer fruit, zesty salted nuts, molasses, leather, and oak. There's an elusive sweet and savory interplay that's hard to grasp. Oregano and caramel, cinnamon and cocoa, rosemary and brown sugar all mingle. Finish is long, spicy, and savory. A superb addition to the developing American whiskey scene, worthy of comparison with top offerings from St George, Redwood Empire, High West, and Barrell, and Cedar Ridge.