Tastes

I paid $35.49 for a 375ml "boot flask," and while this is good whisky, it's not worth that much. It's 94 proof, has no age statement, and comes from a mash of 74% Panhandle white corn, 14% red winter wheat, and 11% barley. In the glass it's a red-gold amber color. NOSE: Grass, sweet corn, something not and sweet that I can't identify, alcohol, some kind of light woodiness, and brine. TASTE: Alcohol sting, caramel, grass, salt, and a faint dark chocolate note. FINISH: Medium, with grass, alcohol, and mild oak.

I had to give this bourbon some kind of rating, since it's better than some stuff I've had, but it's barely better. I wasted $22.99; this whisky would be about right at $15, or lower. The nose gave me rubbing alcohol and some sort of candy. The taste provided a creamy but thin mouthfeel, with vanilla, something medicinal, and mint. Whisky shouldn't taste like a breath mint, and it shouldn't remind me - as this did - of menthol cigarettes without the tobacco. The finish was long, but was just boring oak all by itself.

Is it possible for Balcones to produce a bad whisky? This is the fourth bottle from Waco that I've tasted, and I've loved every single one. As with all the other Balcones whiskies I've had, this one drinks like a whisky that sells for more than I actually paid. This is a 100% corn whisky, and it's 106 proof. According to the label it's aged for "AT LEAST ONE DAY," but whether that means only one day or more than one day I don't know. The color, though, is too dark for me to believe that it was less than a few months. Corn whisky, of course, has no minimum aging requirement. The color in the glass is that of wheat straw, with just a slight reddish tinge. On the NOSE I got smoke right off the bat; this was the main note. There was also alcohol, which isn't surprising at that proof. And there's something sweet in the nose as well, though what specifically I couldn't identify. The TASTE is as unique as all the Balcones whiskies I've had. It begins with something sweet that, as with the nose, I couldn't identify. Then comes the smoke, honey, oak (different from the smokiness), and an alcohol burn. The FINISH is long, beginning with alcohol that moves from the front to the back, and with oak and smoke following, also moving from front to back and lingering in the throat. I don't know exactly what a smoked whisky is, but this whisky is glorious. It's a simple whisky, but Balcones does such good things with its juice that it drinks like something much more complex. At $49.99 a fifth I won't be able to keep this stuff on hand all the time, but it is well worth the price; I'd be willing to pay $60 or more, if I had it, for this whisky.

Ever since I had my first taste of the standard Maker's Mark bourbon, I've wanted to try the other expressions the distillery produces, and I've now started on that process. The Maker's 46 is 94 proof, ran me $22.99 for a 375ml bottle, and has the standard Maker's Mark mash bill - 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% barley. The color in the glass is reddish gold, and the legs form very slowly, begin to run simultaneously, and are close together. NOSE: First there's a warm mustiness, then alcohol comes on strongly, followed by vanilla, floral, and candy corn notes. TASTE: The first note is a very strong vanilla, almost as though I were drinking from a bottle of vanilla. The alcohol is strong - stronger than the Balcones Lineage I had last night, which is the same proof. Next come notes of brown sugar, wood (not the oak I'm used to, so it must be the French oak influence), and fire-roasted corn. The mouthfeel of this whisky has a grainy creaminess. FINISH: Long, with alcohol that fades away leaving only a standard American oakiness. Lately it seems that everything I try I like better than Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky. It's not that I think the standard Maker's Mark is bad - on the contrary, I think it's very good. It's just that I seem to be in a run of even better whiskies. Though this one might be a bit pricy for me as a regular thing, it is both different from, and better than, the regular Maker's Mark bourbon.

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.