Tastes

I have never had a Balcones product before, not being sold in my area. After seeing several very positive reviews on this site I was able to locate an out of state source that would ship to me. You folks steered me well. This is a delicious single malt. In the bottle it is nearly as dark as a cola, but pours a lovely dark amber in the nosing glass. NOSE: vanilla, cooked peaches and nuts compote, a bit of spice and underlying sweetness. PALATE: Very soft on the tongue, sweetness (not too much) is immediate followed by a full, rich malt taste that displays old leather, honey, nuts, vanilla, cooked peaches, and a little spice. This compares to an older, non-peated Highland malt; as Ctrexman stated in his review a few months back. (Personally it reminds me in general flavor notes of a non-sherry Macallan 12 yo or a Royal Brackla 12 yo. Nothing like the lighter, fruitier styles of an Glenmorangie, Glenlivet, or Glen Grant.) The Texas heat has aged this youthful malt beyond it's years. It is bottled at 47% ABV, but mouths like a 40%. The finish continues with these flavors and is medium-long. This is not a heavy peat Scotch, a complicated multi-layered Springbank, nor a fruity/floral Speysider. It is simply a straight forward well-crafted American single malt that is simply delicious.

Redbreast Lustau is a NAS single pot whiskey. The whiskey is matured between 9 to 12 years in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks, before being vatted and finished in first-fill oloroso sherry butts from Bodegas Lustau in Jerez for an additional year. Non-chill-filtered, it is bottled at 46% ABV. It pours a light amber touched with a reddish hue. The nose is spice and honey and a backdrop of ripe plum and fig. In the mouth those same flavors burst forth, first the honey and spice of the pot still, and than the fruitiness of the sherry influence which is full and enveloping. It is at the point you begin to notice the gentle warmth of the 46%ABV.. I am enjoying this very much. I am not going to say this is better than the wonderful 12 year old. However, it is perhaps as good, and is different enough to warrant a space in your home.

Glenmorangie malt is by it's own nature a fruity style of single malt. Finishing it in port casks for a couple of years adds a ripe berry depth to the flavor, as well as a red hue to the pour. I would rate the 12 yo as 4.1. Recently the 12 yo has been replaced with a 14 yo that has been finished in port casks for a total of four years. Overall this is an improvement and I would rate it a little higher at 4.3. I would rate it higher but for a little bitterness on the finish.

Good blended Scotch. I have never seen it in MO, so took advantage when a Florida shipper was offering Black Friday free shipping. There supposedly is more than 50% malt in the blend, and at least a portion of it is in the 16-18 year range. (Who knows if it is %1 or %20 of the blend.) It pours a pale straw gold in the glass, noses of ripe orchard fruit, honey, biscuit, vanilla, and wax, yes wax. In the mouth it is soft and smooth and displays the flavors promised by the nose. There may be a touch of peat as an accent in the blend, but I am not really picking it up. This costs as much as some 10-12 yo single malts, but is good and shows the artistry of a master blender. Single malt or blend, if your tastes slip to the fruity side of Scotch, I think this is well worth a try.

Nikka From the Barrel is seldom seen in these parts; so imagine my surprise when my neighborhood mom/pop spirits shop had three bottles on the shelf. They were offering it a couple bucks under the SRP of $74.99. (Online shops tend to sell it in the $100-200 range.) In my rush to sample my new find I poured a straw colored dram, nosed the glass to catch ripe fruit, honey, sandalwood, vanilla, and barrel char. In the mouth it was silky, though thin, on the tongue. The layers of flavored played out on the tongue. This is a blend of over 100 different barrels of varying ages, a mixture of single malts and grain whiskies, from two different distilleries--one using pot stills and one using coffee (continuous) stills. My initial reaction was this resulting whiskey was very similar to a good quality Irish pot still whiskey. That was unfair of me. Another day, another pour, and a little patience to allow the whiskey to breathe a little----then--this whiskey blooms. All the afore mentioned flavors seem to have grown fuller and rounder, this time there is a distinct touch of smoky peat--subtle, like in Johnnie Walker Gold. Didn't catch that at all the first time. Trying it with a few drops of water seems to increase the peppery wood spice. Odd. This is a very fine whiskey. When considering present pricing there are others I prefer at this price point. If you are bourbon/rye drinker who doesn't give a fig for Irish or Scotch, I don't think this Japanese blend is for you.

This is really good rye, especially if you are REALLY a rye fan. The rye "spiciness" is here in spades. That mint after taste is probably the strongest I have ever sampled. According to their website the current mash bill for this is: A blend of straight Rye whiskeys ranging in age from 2 to 7 years. Straight Rye whiskeys: 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP 80% Rye, 20% Malted Rye from High West Distillery There is just enough corn in this to give it a touch of sweetness. The rye spice, a great mouth feel, that touch of sweetness, and the anise and mint on the finish makes for a great sipping rye. I am sure it would be great in an old fashion, but haven't tried one yet.

There is obvious attention to detail with my bottle, vintage 2015. The cork is sealed with a heavy wax dip (like on Makers Mark, only this is black), the pull string is a strip of rawhide leather, the corn in the mash is Panhandle White grown in Dallam County and harvested in 2011, distilling was in 2012, bottled in 2015, this is bottle No. 32879, and in is signed by the the Garrison brothers. Almost forgot, there is a Texas lone star stamped in the wax atop the cork. This 94 proof elixir pours a beautiful dark amber in the glass. The nose is a mixture of corn sweetness, bread dough, oak spice, and an overall floral note. (The nose reminds me of the nose of Sazerac rye, though there is no rye in this.) In the mouth the corn sweetness, the fresh bread dough, and the oak spice are all on display in a well balanced dance of flavors. It is as smooth and easy going as a 80-86 proof whiskey. The Texas heat of their locale west of Austin has really worked on the barrels, this comes across more like a six year old bourbon rather than a three. A few drops of water doesn't seem to open up any other different flavor notes and seems to diminish the intensity of the flavors, so I don't recommend adding water.

Pouring neat this is a dark amber or caramel color. The nose is sweet and spicy. The mouth picks up the corn sweetness first, followed by wood char, some rye spice and oak tanins. The finish is medium long and drying. This is good, but rather one dimensional. That "charcoal mellowing" simply removes those fatty acids which can add so much complexity to a dram. Trying this with a few drops of water to make it closer to 90 proof really cuts back the wood char flavor note.

Classic rye notes at barrel strength. My bottle is a 375, batch 2, bottle 399, 112.3 proof. This has been aged only 18 months, but comes across as at least 3 years because of aging in small Misssouri oak barrels. At barrel strength this is rye whiskey on steroids. I have as yet to make an old fashion or a Manhattan with it, but I am sure it would shine through. When you add a few drops of water to lower it to somewhere around 100 proof (my estimate), this is quite wonderful, the heat is decreased markedly but the spice and grass of a rye come through beautifully. This is a good 100% rye. From what I can ascertain this is basically a Kansas City region product so far. However, checking at www.wine-seacher.com I found a couple of distributors that ship to some of the US states. I hope you are lucky to be found in one of the lucky states.

If the 12 is the teenager, the 15 the grown up beauty, then this is the pageant winner. Tasting beside the 12 and 15 you know this is another Glenfiddich expression. The fruit notes and malt are well rounded, the sherry influence comes across as ripe dates, and the oak spice has become akin to Christmas cookies spice. This is thicker in the mouth, though not at that oily stage some malts display. My current bottle is 86 proof, but drinks as easily as an 80. Trying a couple drops of water this becomes a little different--but very good and elegant. The spice is less intense and the ripe date flavor is lessened, but the sweet malt is much more clear. Really very good. This is not the best 18 I have ever sampled, but it is in the ballpark. If this was $50 rather than $100 it would be a regular purchase for me.