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Whiskeys from Balcones, arguably Texas’s best-known distillery, have been stacking up right here at Drinkhacker HQ. As we speak we’re killing a trilogy of bottles, together with two new releases and the second version of one other well-liked expression.
Balcones Pilgrimage – Texas single malt constructed from Golden Promise barley, aged in used casks and completed in Sauternes casks. No age assertion. The is conceptually a beast: One of many hardest and burliest whiskey types, completed in one of many lightest and most ephemeral wine casks. The completed product challenges expectations. The nostril is an acceptable mixture of candy and smoke, although notes of recent mesquite and campfire charcoal dominate over a lightweight honey and lemon character — turning into beefier because it develops within the glass. The palate is racy and sizzling at full energy, kicking off with that basic barrel-forward, well-charred character earlier than lastly hinting at fruit: inexperienced grapes, lemon curd, and a few grapefruit — in the end veering somewhat bitter, truly. The end has some Japanese spice notes, however in any other case it’s robust and considerably inexperienced — numerous pepper within the combine right here — even with water, which accentuates the whiskey’s frontier styling. A lingering contact of honeycomb is the clearest nod to the Sauternes cask, but it surely’s fairly clear that there’s solely a lot influence a candy wine cask can have on a monster base spirit — particularly at cask energy. 117 proof. B / $80
Balcones Luckenbach – Named after a reasonably well-known ghost city within the texas Hill Nation, famous for its spacious nation dance corridor. That is the newest in Balcones’ “Texas Originals Collection,” which is crafted from substances discovered solely within the Lone Star State: Texas-grown and malted barley, aged at the least 36 months in new oak barrels and completed in Texas dessert wine casks. Wildly unique, this whiskey is in contrast to anything I’ve had from Balcones — or anybody else, actually. The nostril is a melange of oak, plump raisins, and incense — and plenty of potpourri. The palate promptly takes all of that and shoves it down your throat. Dried floral notes are intense, virtually soapy, because the whiskey develops, throwing out notes of honeysuckle, dill, spiced nuts, and raspberry syrup, all swirled round in perfumed bathwater. None of which will make any sense until you’ve had a Texas dessert wine — however I’m from Houston, so, you’re welcome. Cross on this one. 108.2 proof. Reviewed: Batch #LUCK21-1. C+ / $60
Balcones Texas Bock (2021) – That is the second version of Balcones’ experiment with Texas’s iconic Shiner Bock, distilled into beer. We reviewed edition #1 final 12 months, fairly lovingly. “Just like its predecessor, the brand new particular launch makes use of the Spoetzl Brewery’s mash invoice and proprietary lager yeast pressure for Shiner beer; nonetheless, the most recent model has been aged for a further 12 months (3 complete) in American oak barrels to create a novel and sophisticated taste profile.” An additional 12 months in barrel has accomplished nothing however good issues for this whiskey. The nostril stays burly and highly effective, beefy and pungent with notes of pepper, saddle leather-based, and a few of that darkish chocolate evident within the preliminary batch. The palate once more has the distinct notes of a country, darkish beer, filtered by natural greenery, although there’s extra sweetness evident, giving it a prolonged caramel character, laced with milk chocolate, working to the end line. The more durable bacon and pepper notes of the 2020 bottling give means right here to a gentler — but nonetheless grassy and hoppy — end, culminating in a sweeter, flippantly candied conclusion. Tasting them facet by facet, my preliminary grade might have been on the excessive facet, however the present one is totally justified. 100 proof. Reviewed: Batch #BOCK21-1. A- / $45
Balcones Luckenbach
$60
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