Balcones Baby Blue

Sweet, caramel, toffee, smooth

If you like corn, it’s great. All versions are represented here. I’m not a corn fan.

Corn whiskey is apparently not for me. This was recommended and was not my thing. To simple and kind of boring.

CORN WHISKEY SHOWDOWN: Balcones Baby Blue vs Mellow Corn In some respects, corn whiskey is bourbon’s “purer” older brother. The mashbill for corn whiskey has to be at least 80% corn (compared to at least 51% for bourbon), and there is neither an age nor barrel requirement. Straight corn whiskey has the same mashbill requirements, and must be aged in new or used oak barrels for at least two years. Balcones Baby Blue is labeled Corn Whisky (no “e”), while Mellow Corn is labeled Straight Corn Whiskey, with the addition that it is Bottled in Bond, which means that it’s also 100 proof and aged four years. Balcones Baby Blue (3.75): color of clear turbinado sugar. Breakfast nose serves up maple syrup, Jiffy cornbread, cinnamon, buttered toast, and a whiff of bacon. On the palate, there is some initial heat, followed by brown sugar and vanilla, with lingering vanilla on the finish. Balcones is a distiller that I’m paying more attention to; I recently reviewed their Texas Pot Still bourbon and liked it. Mellow Corn (3.25): bright gold color. Nose offers subtle green banana, summer grass, light butterscotch, light oaky and ethanol. There is a light glycerin mouthfeel, with a little more heat than the Baby Blue (consistent with the higher 100 proof), some vanilla, and white pepper and vanilla on the finish. I’m 80% done with this bottle, but it’s a nice change of pace to go downmarket and experience other American whiskies. I’ll keep a bottle on hand. I’ll bet it goes well with my pecan-smoked pork butts and Brunswick stew. And I love the 1940s-era label. Balcones Baby Blue is definitely the more complex and nuanced of the two, and is available for around $35; but Mellow Corn is a higher proof, and while not too complex, drinks well and is widely available at roughly $15. While it is usually found on the bottom shelf at the liquor store, it drinks far better than most bottom-shelf whiskies. And while it’s arguably monolithic, so is Compass Box Hedonism (reviewed yesterday) for 8-10x the price. N.B. All spirits tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.