Balcones Lineage Texas Single Malt

Nose: chocolate malt, ripe pear, leather, oak Palette: The same chocolate malt up front, it’s short then very ripe orange and malted milk balls, leather, light smoke, and oak with a long finish. Very well done

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.

On the nose was immediately rich and fruity, I initially had lighter honeyed fruit like apple or pear. You get oak tannin, reminded me of a highland direction. But the taste let's you know this is not Scotch, slight chocolate notes, oak, vanilla, darker stewed fruits. The Balcones signature is definitely in this one

Sweet toffee and caramel, mulling spices, oak and chestnut, tea, red wine, and honey. Warm lingering spice at the end. It’s good.

Like all Balcones, this is a wonderfully complex single malt but not at all unapproachable. The nose has the same signature "fruit tang" note that the flagship Texas "1" has, which I can only describe has Welch's grape juice. There is some sweet honey and vanilla lingering beneath as well. On the palate you get some nice spice upfront that carries throughout in a pleasant way. There is also cinnamon/nutmeg and faint creme brule notes along with an oily mouthfeel. The finish is medium to long with the spice hanging around.