Balcones Archives - The Distillates

Tasting Notes by Brand: Balcones

Bourbon & American

Balcones FR.OAK Single Malt 60%

Nose: Intensely garden patch, violet, green wood, green bell pepper, cedar

Palate: did not expect elegance. such a delightful blend of violets and wood, the mouth feel is velvety and syrupy. Roasted bell peppers and fresh fish on a cedar plank. Quickly sauteed mushroom with browned butter, and coffee grounds. Finish is long and full of leather, coffee, and the lingering violets.

Rating: 7 (Ryan) 6 (Shane) / 10 – Ryan loves the interplay between the floralness and the deep wood character. I acknowledge the beauty of the dram that way I often look at a super model and can see how she is beautiful, but wouldn’t want to marry her.

Balcones Texas Bock 2022 Cask Strength 63.4%

Nose: Begonia, mustard seed, turmeric, all spice

Palate: Indian spice ball blend, interesting and fun; cardamom, dijon mustard, cinnamon, turmeric, cedar chips, pickling spices: allspice, coriander, bay leaves. Unrefined maple syrup.

Rating: 7 / 10 – Been fasting. Doing bloodwork tomorrow. Perhaps the tasting was unwise. But damn this good. So there is that. What is crazy is how different this is from the 50% release a couple years prior. Both lovely, but this rocks. Its gets better with time in the glass.

Balcone Pilgrimage After Peat 2023 60%

Nose: light green olive brine, browned butter, subtle stone fruit, vanilla, oak, charcoal briquette, kombucha, cold cigarette smoke from the day before

Palate: interesting sweetness, turkish apricots, unripe plums, and the boom bitterness of aspirin and green bell pepper, very very strong oak, touch of matchstick

Rating: 3 (Ryan / Shane) / 10 – the latest 15 year releases are just plain weird. While this isn’t sulfury, its sulfur adjacent enough for me not to enjoy it.

Balcones Texas Single Malt Whisky Plumpjack “Texicali Booze” #16009 EU Oak Bottled 64.1%

Nose: grape jolly rancher, sarsaparilla, salted dark licorice, anchovy, dry old wallet

Palate: copper, grape electrolytes, both artificial and salty. a lick of port reduction on a cutlet. Cut globe grapes in tonic.

Rating: 5 / 10 (Ryan / Shane) – this is an odd one. It’s both enjoyable and kind of hard to drink. In ryan words … I think I like it… maybe… It’s a fun little ride?

Balcones Texas Single Malt Whisky Goody Goody #14160 Used FO Ex-Rmb 64.2%

Nose: rum raisin ice cream, grape nerds / poprocks, nougat, cold wood cabin, tomato vine (after some time and sipping)

Palate: ice sweetness at the front, vanilla, rum raisin ice cream from the nose, less grapey, nice quality wood, a strong grape vinegar kombucha vibe, black tea, that core modern Balcones sour note. Tried it with a big splash of water and it becomes elegantly grapey with a gnarly bitter note. Better at full proof.

Rating: 6 (Ryan / Shane) / 10

Shane

Balcones Single Barrel Collection #32110 64.1%

Nose: Masala, cardamom, mahogany, dates, bay leaves, lightest touch malt vinegar

Palate: Oh sweet wonderful oloroso child. Indian spices.

Rating: 6 / 10 – montilla casks finished in oloroso

Shane

Balcones Single Barrel Collection #27888 62.1% “Emma’s Pick”

Nose: Honey, pomegranate molasses, soft gooey dates, dark coffee caramel, I accidentally pour in a large wallop of water after first tasting and the nose just came to life. Witches fingers grapes, braggs aminos.

Palate: The peat to port combo is really nice and works, this could be an amrut. Honey, stonefruits, indian earthy spices, Cinnamon, leather, chocolate covered espresso beans, banana chips, tobacco, grapefruit, with water get sandalwood.

Rating: 6 / 10 – frankly if this was just a little hot, I’d love a bottle, But my lord it burns. The sweetness and hint of smoke really really work. Added water and this could be a 7 with water.

Balcones Peated Sauternes Cask 60%

Nose: Peat is lovely and gentle, tangerine, waking up early in the mountains and a cabin across the valley has their wood fire up as the smoke curls lazily on a warm wind, jasmine, with water I get more cinnamon

Palate: Tangerine, cinnamon honey stick, graham crackers with a hint of tasted marshmallow, bruleed super ripe fig, with water nutmeg, and hints of chocolate

Rating: 8 / 10 – holy crap this is just damn good. Not weird novelty good. But delicious.

Balcones 4 Year 64.15% for Single Cask Nation

Nose: Exotic woods, sandlewood, potpourri, wintergreen, with water this nose comes to life: vietnamese cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, rose hip, camphor

Palate: Rye toast with marmite spread and an espresso shot. Chocolate covered espresso beans, Carrob, leather… I would totally add this to a mole sauce… with water it explodes with vanilla, and the cinamon… a mexican hot chocolate.

Rating: 7 as is, a 9 with water / 10 – a hands down amazing pour, but I could only handle one bottle of this. But with water, holy shit it’s even better.

Shane

Balcones Texas Single Malt #21899 Used FR > Used 4R “Goody Goody” 62.3%

Nose: Sharp on the nose, very grain forward, with some water get some green apple, vanilla, grapefruit zest

Palate: Sharp on the palate, cinnamon cracker, cardboard

Rating: 3 / 10 – does not taste like a single malt, more like a grain spirit. It’s too sharp and even water didn’t save it. More like baddy baddy.

Balcones Cataleja 15Yr Anniversary Distillery Release 59%

Nose: Anchovies, olive brine with a salty vinegar vibe, lime leaves, getting sulfur warnings but to be seen. Smells like of rancid.

Palate: Taste me … or better, don’t. Dates… nope, I’ve spit it out twice. It’s everything I can’t handle about sulfur.

Rating: 1 / 10 – that is just terrible. It’s not just the sulfur, everything about it is disharmonious.

Balcones True Blue 2021 (Discontinued) 50%

Nose: Metallic, floral, berries, celeriac, cornichons and pickling brine.

Palate: Packing tape, that bitter/vegetal balcones dna, mirepoix

Rating: 5 / 10

Balcones Texas Bourbon Pot Still 2020 46%

Nose: Sugar cream frosting, corn, incense, subtle stone fruit, reminiscent of old spice aftershave, chestnut

Palate: Cabinet spices, nice heat, caramel, browned butter

Rating: 5 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 – so wish this had a higher abv

Balcones ~Single~ Double Cask Nation 64.15%

Nose: Brown sugar, slightly floral, brine, honey.

Palate: Leather, oak, pond water, very peppery, licking envelope, nice toasted note on the finish

Rating: 7 (Shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – simple and pleasant

Simply Whisky BIG Balcones 65.7%

Nose: Sweet corn bread, apricots, vanilla ice cream, sugar cookies, honey blossom, polvito uruguayo, white tea

Palate: Hint of a nice sweet note followed quickly by suuuper strong wood, chlorine, bitter

Rating: 5 (Shane) 4 (Ryan) / 10 – nose is layered, rich and interesting but the palate falls short