Tastes

Every time I've opened a new Balcones bottle it's impressed me, and this is no exception. I love this whisky, though it's nothing like the bourbon and corn whisky I've become used to. The mash bill is 100% malted barley from Texas and Scotland. According to the label, it's AGED AT LEAST 36 MONTHS IN OAK - apparently they have a minimum aging period, after which they age to taste. It's 94 proof, and cost me $41.99 for a fifth at the Uptown Total Wine here in Albuquerque. The color in the glass is reddish wheat. The legs form very slowly, which I take indicates the amount of alcohol, and run down long and randomly spaced around the glass. NOSE: The nose is very strong - before I ever approached the glass to my nose, I could smell the whisky. It wasn't unpleasant, and there were no specific notes, but I could definitely smell it. Approaching my nose to the glass I detected apple juice and alcohol. With my nose fully into the glass, there were notes of vanilla, an underlying warm note, apples, bananas, and a very slight smokiness. TASTE: Sipping the whisky gave me an initial note of cool water. Then came a note of bitter Baker's Chocolate (which I used to enjoy eating when I was young), and some oak. After the complexity of the nose, the simplicity of the taste surprised me, but it's nevertheless a very pleasing thing on the tongue. The mouthfeel is very creamy, almost oily. FINISH: The finish is long. It begins with a strong oak note, followed by dark chocolate and puffed wheat, with smoke coming on, followed by brown sugar. Then the oak comes back and lingers, and lingers, and lingers... I expected great things from this bottle because the two other Balcones products I've had delivered great things. The Lineage didn't disappoint me; I expected great things, and it delivered great things.

Since I've found that I prefer my whisky straight, without water or "resting," I've abandoned my three regimes tasting method, and simply try it straight out of the bottle. This bottle - a fifth, or as close as makes no never mind - I got at Total Wine in Albuquerque for $39.99. The mash bill is 100% roasted blue corn, and according to the labels it's AGED AT LEAST 12 MONTHS IN OAK. I understand that the short aging period is the reason it's "baby" blue. It's 92 proof, and like Balcones Pot STill Bourbon, it doesn't drink like it has such a relatively high proof - I routinely got more alcohol burn from 80 proof whiskies, before I learned to prefer a higher proof. The COLOR is golden amber. The LEGS form quickly, are widely spaced, and run down long. The NOSE on this whisky initially gives notes of caramel and a very faint oak. Given the short aging period I wouldn't expect a lot of oak in the juice. Upon putting my nose fully into the glass, I discerned a smokiness, and then roasted corn. When I TASTED the whisky I got smokiness, caramel, and a slight bitterness as of hops. It was a pleasant bitterness, as the bitterness in beer is pleasant, but I've never gotten that from a whisky before and it surprised me. On the very tip of my tongue I tasted brown sugar. The FINISH of this Baby Blue whisky is medium in length, beginning with a smoky oak taste. This is where the alcohol comes in most strongly, and the hops bitterness is more pronounced here. This is a simple whisky, but it's one of the best I've ever tasted. Balcones has a reputation for producing bold, strong-flavored whiskies, which I found to be true of the Pot Still Bourbon. This whisky, which one would normally expect to be somewhat mild, given the short aging period, is also bold and definite. For a simple whisky it's surprisingly good - but I'm coming to expect nothing but the best stuff from the Balcones distillery. I give this whisky five stars without the least hesitation or doubt.

I've had several glasses of this now, and won't alter anything in my full review. But I'm learning more about this whisky. I've detected brown sugar in the nose, and a hint of chocolate cake. Drinking this bourbon is like sitting on a log with a mesquite barbecue on one side, and roasting chile on the other. It may be that there are more complex whiskies out there, and tastier ones, but this is absolutely the best I've ever had.

This whisky sells for $68.99 for a fifth here in Albuquerque at Total Wine. It's a goldish copper in the glass, and the legs form slowly, and run quick and narrow. NOSE: Begins with honey, and then gives vanilla and caramel. The last notes are apples and pears. It's not a complex nose, but it is a very pleasant one. TASTE: Right off there's a definite alcohol burn, which I find is fairly common with 80 proof whiskies (why is there less burn at higher proof? I have no clue). The mouthfeel is watery, and the notes are fruity honey, a slight taste of oak, and something that makes me think of wine (probably the sherry barrels showing themselves). FINISH: Long, beginning with spice, then oak, and finally a lingering spicy oak.

I judge this to be a young whisky, spending the minimum three years in the barrel and then just zooming through the rum barrel as it makes its way to the bottle. It would be a good $20 whisky, but $38.49 is too much for what it delivers. The color is reddish gold. The legs form at different places at different times, are thin and long, and run at different speeds. NOSE: If only the first note were an accurate indicator of what's to come - it's a glorious honey. But all that follows is candy corn, and smoky corn. TASTE: Alcohol is the main note, with honey and straw coming in underneath. FINISH: Long, but consists solely of alcohol and oak.

I'm tasting this from a sample, but Total Wine in Albuquerque sells it at $39.99 a bottle. This is only my second Irish whisky, and it's considerably better than the other (the Sexton). The nose was delightfully complex, but the taste and the finish were considerably less so. This is a good whisky, though, and at a lower price I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. The mash bill is 100% malted barley. There's no age statement, but from the light color I'd guess that it didn't spend a huge amount of time in the used barrels. The color is that of 14 karat gold (I compared it to my wedding ring when that occurred to me, and they matched). The legs are thin and short, and run at random places and times around the glass. This is an 86 proof whisky (though the Irish put an E into the word). NOSE: I had a surprise with salt water coming off first. Next there were notes of honey, meadow grass, butterscotch, and something sweet that I couldn't identify. That unknown note was very like something I can't identify in Balcones Pot Still Bourbon's nose - which is weird, because the mash bills are very different. When I put my nose fully into the glass I got an additional note of honey lemon. TASTE: It begins sour, though not unpleasantly so. There was a definite, though not extreme, alcohol burn, with a tinge of honey. Last there came something faintly woody - oak, perhaps, though it was so slight I couldn't be sure. FINISH: Short, with oak transforming to spicy oak, and ending with spice.

I'm tasting this from a sample, but the Total Wine site here in Albuquerque lists a fifth at $59.99. This bourbon has a mash bill of 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley, and is 86.6 proof. It's a disappointing whisky - for all the hype, and the price, it ought to be considerably better. It's drinkable, but I've had better for less. The color is ripe wheat, with a faint tinge of copper. The legs are narrow and close together. NOSE: Alcohol - not a burn, just the smell - appears first. Then there are notes of vanilla, oak, and caramel, none of them very strong. Even with my nose right in the glass, the nose on this whisky isn't really there. TASTE: Corn sweetness, the burn of alcohol, rye spice, all with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. FINISH: Medium, with nothing in it but spice.

At $79.99 at Total Wine in Albuquerque I won't buy a bottle anytime soon, but I am so glad I received a sample of this rye whisky. If it weren't for the price this would have immediately become my favorite rye (though generally I prefer sweeter, less spicy whiskies). This is a barrel proof whisky, and this particular sample is 108.2 proof. Yet it's not until the finish that the alcohol really asserts itself; going by the nose and taste I'd have thought this was 100 proof or lower. It's a lovely copper gold in the glass. The legs run quickly and long, and a leg will run down in the track of a previous leg. The mash bill is 95% rye and 5% malted barley. NOSE: Rye spice is definitely the first thing that comes through, but then there are notes of vanilla, a slight smokiness, caramel, and honey. Upon putting my nose fully into the glass I detected salt, apple, citrus, cinnamon, something faintly but pleasantly medicinal, and new-mown grass. TASTE: This is a very creamy whisky, considerably more so than anything I've tasted hitherto. It's rye forward, with honey, vanilla, caramel, and oak involved. FINISH: This is long, and begins with oak. Then there's a long stretch of emphatic spice, fading to a smoky oak. This is certainly a rye whisky, but in some respects it resembles a bourbon. I suspect the difference here is that being barrel proof, water hasn't reduced the complexity and washed away the sweeter notes from the wood of the barrel. Whatever the explanation, the only thing keeping this from moving to number 1 on my rye list is the exorbitant cost.

In my short experience with whisky - I just began drinking it in September - I've changed favorites, as is only natural. This is my brand new favorite. This is tremendous stuff, the best whisky of any kind I've ever had. Someday another whisky may displace it, but for now this is definitely the best. This is the most complex, and the most consistent, whisky I've thus far encountered. The mash bill contains roasted blue corn, Texas wheat, Texas rye, and malted barley, though I couldn't find any information about percentages. Either the wheat is sufficient to cancel the rye, since this is a sweet whisky and not a spicy one, or there's just enough rye to keep the stuff from being overly sweet. It's 92 proof in the bottle. I got a fifth for $29.99 at Total Wine here in Albuquerque. I tasted the whisky in three regimes - right out of the bottle, with a splash of water, and after setting for 10 minutes. There were some differences between the three regimes, but very few. In the glass this whisky is the color of ripe golden wheat. The legs are well-spaced and long; they formed quickly on one side of the glass and slowly on the other, which is weird. RIGHT FROM THE BOTTLE Nose: With my nose approaching, but not in, the glass, I got this wonderful complex aroma. I found notes of roasted corn on the cob, toasted marshmallows, a hint of smoke (mesquite? it would be appropriate for a Texas whisky to have mesquite in it), and mingled caramel and butterscotch. Upon introducing my nose into the glass I got additional notes of cool spring water, and something warm and furry that I can't identify, but which is very pleasant - perhaps it's the mesquite coals of a barbecue. Taste: Corn, candy, smoke, and plenty of alcohol, with smoky oak coming in underneath it all. Finish: Plenty of long-lasting smoky oak. WATER Nose: All the notes are the same, and if the water dilutes them at all, it's very little. Taste: There's less alcohol on the tongue, but the flavored are the same, though perhaps slightly weaker, and now there's a creaminess that didn't introduce itself right out of the bottle. Finish: The same as before. 10 MINUTES Nose: Everything the same. Taste: Vanilla now appears for the first time, mingling with the previous notes, which are somewhat toned down but still clearly present. Finish: The same as before, but with a smidgen less force.

This cost me $21.99 for a fifth at Total Wine in Albuquerque. The color is amber with a reddish tinge at the edges, and the legs form and run quickly, far apart. It's 80 proof, with a mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. First, I tried it straight out of the bottle. The NOSE was fruity, with apples and something else I couldn't identify. When I put my nose all the way into the glass I got apples and vanilla, caramel, and a very faint oak. There was almost no alcohol burn. The TASTE was spicy fruit and caramel, with oak coming on, and a butterscotch note. The FINISH was medium, giving oak with a little spice. This whisky loses a lot when you put in a splash of water or let it set for a few minutes, and while I made notes on those portions of the tasting, the only way this stuff is really worth drinking is right out of the bottle. But there it's good. This isn't a very complex whisky, but it's miles above Jack Daniel's, and has restored my faith in Tennessee whisky.