Tastes

Now that I’ve acquired a proper bottle of this stuff it’s time to do a proper review. Boy do I love mesquite smoked single malt. I feel like nothing captures the spirit of the American West like this style of whiskey. I already have a bottle of the Colkegan from New Mexico and High West Campfire from Utah, and now with this bottle from Arizona, I’m closer to the smokey four corners collection (looking your way Colorado. Maybe Stranahans has something cooking up...). The nose here is just beautiful. Mouth watering even. The mesquite is more present here than on the Colkegan, I suspect because of a higher percentage of smoked barley. I get meaty, briskety note along with campfire, a little leather, and an almost creamy note. Taste brings just the right amount of smoke along with a coating, creamy mouthfeel. Letting it sit on my palate a while reminds me of the last cigar I smoked (which was admittedly a long time ago. One vice at a time...). The finish lingers and leaves a warm embery glow in your mouth enticing you to go back for more. I didn’t add water because it went down plenty easy at 45%. A little hard to find (one liquor store in all of Austin had it), but definitely worth the effort. Their brand rep at the tasting I attended said they’re starting to expand their distribution further so hopefully it shows up on y’alls shelves at some point in the near future. Cheers!

I have to admit, I was disappointed by this one. On a recent visit to the Ranger Creek “brewstillery” in San Antonio (the beer was much better, particularly the coffee ale and the prickly pair sour) I tried a pour of this along with a distillery exclusive “heavily smoked” version, which supposedly had a much higher percentage of mesquite smoked barley. I found both expressions lacking on the nose. The mesquite is hardly present on the nose in the original and starts to jump out in the heavily smoked version, but both pale in comparison to the Coklegan Single Malt or the Whisky Del Bac Dorado. The taste was pleasant enough, with some chocolate and soft malt notes, but the finish was week and left me wanting. This is still a young distillery and I have hope for them yet, especially as the Texas Whisky Trail picks up momentum, so perhaps in future distillations they’ll tinker with their recipe more to integrate the mesquite smoke more effectively. For now though, my rating stands this, and I hope to try something more compelling in the future. For now, if you’re looking for a mesquite smoked American single malt, go with one of the other two I listed above if you can find them.

Visited the distillery in San Antonio. This bourbon has some promise, but there was a funky, beery quality to it that reminded me of dry breakfast cereal, and beyond that it was a one note bourbon. None of the usual caramel, brown sugar, cherry, or oak flavors. This one just came out as of 2019, so I’d be interested to see what another year or two in the barrel will do to this whisky, but for now it doesn’t do much for me.

Went to a Del Bac tasting tonight with their brand ambassador. Tried several of their expressions and I can say that each of their expressions has a unique flavor profile. The version I got to taste tonight was a Madeira finish, which reminded me of a cross between Glendronach and Colkegan. Great stuff! Sherry finish meets mesquite smoke.

Went to a Del Bac tasting tonight with their brand ambassador. Tried several of their expressions and I can say that each of their expressions has a unique flavor profile. The classic is nice but reminds me of other American single malts like Stranahans or Westland. Good stuff but doesn’t stand out like the Dorado.

Went to a Del Bac tasting tonight with their brand ambassador. Tried several of their expressions and I can say that each of their expressions has a unique flavor profile. This is truly unique new make! It has the creaminess of the barley and some smoke on the nose, but also on the nose is some vegetal mezcal funk. The finish is short it smooth without any of the burn you’d think there’d be with new make.

Went to a Del Bac tasting tonight with their brand ambassador. Tried several of their expressions and I can say that each of their expressions has a unique flavor profile. The Dorado was by far my favorite. Layers of mesquite smoke, a round and creamy and caramely taste on the back end of the palate and an incredibly long and satisfying finish. Can’t wait for this one to come to Texas!

What a lovely dram! On a recent visit to the Balcones distillery in Waco, TX I tried this with a few other drams (see other recent reviews), and found this to live up to its reputation here in Texas. On the nose, it's a more full bodied version of their Baby Blue, with almost a smooth tea note and some leather (think leather bound books). The taste is super smooth, with sweet corn notes, black tea, and lots of oak from all that time in the barrel in the Texas heat. The finish is moderate but with minimal burn. A bit pricy due to the Angel's Share here in Texas, but a quality drop if you find it near you.

Now this was a quality drop! I'm a huge fan of smoked American whiskies, and I feel like it's one of our unique contributions to the world of whiskey in addition to rye and bourbon. After all, peated scotch is only so because that was the fuel they had for their fires, just like mesquite or scrub oak here in Texas. The nose is exquisite, with notes of chili, BBQ, honey glaze, and lots of lovely smoke. The taste complements it nicely with a roundness and a slight dustiness from the corn, and the finish has the perfect amount of smoke and burn and lasts forever like the dying embers of a campfire. When my bottle of Balcones Single Malt runs dry, I'm replacing it with this!

I don't meet many drams I have a hard time drinking, but this one was rough. I really enjoy cask strength whiskey, but that means something different here in Texas.Most of the CS whiskies from Europe I have are around 53-56% ABV, but here in Texas, that what distilleries water their whiskey down to! I love the Balcones single malt, but the rum finish didn't stick the landing here. The dram came in too hot and burned off any of the flavor the rum may have imparted. After a few drops (or several...) of water, I got it to a point where it was more drinkable, but my palate had been trashed by then so I couldn't get any of the nuance at that point. A fun thing to try at the distillery but not a bottle I'd keep at home.