Balcones Mirador Texas Single Malt

The nose is sweet and smells like plums or grapes. The palate is sweet as well, with a little bitterness in the mid-palate, and the finish has lingering heat. Not as hot as I would have expected from 53.5% ABV.

Batch: MIR22-1; Date: looks like 1.19.22 - the 22 is clear, good enough. N: Floral honey, vanilla, tropical fruit, light wood notes, apple, cranberry, and some of that classic Balcones pecan pie, maybe with a touch of sweet potato this time. P: Sweet, honey, floral notes, tropical fruit, some hot wood notes, a little bitterness, thin at the mid-palate, some red wine notes, touch of citrus, definitely a little bit of sweet potato pie. F: Slightly bitter, floral and fruity, some hot oak notes, hint of cinnamon. This is really a different profile for Balcones single malt - you expect some power, lots of sweetness, lots of malt, and some unique pecan pie notes. This leans more fruity and it's not the best I've had from Balcones. It's almost like a lighter Speyside or Highland scotch, except bottled at 53%. I don't think that ABV does this bottle favors. It adds some harshness that doesn't play well with the more delicate notes. Wonder how this would work at 46-47%. Might be interesting. It is also quite expensive for what it is. Hard to think about picking up another one, although I hear there's some significant batch variation. Good buzz for a batch might bring me back, but hard to imagine grabbing another of these at a markup over the regular Balcones single malt. ____________ Please come join an unofficial Distiller community on Discord (now one whole year old!): https://discord.gg/4nfePCdyKM. We chat spirits (and other things) in real time while being a great resource to each other for recommendations, finding deals, and generally enjoying the journey together. (If the link is expired - it shouldn't be - please post a comment and I will gladly and usually quickly provide a new one.)

BLIND TASTING Nose: strong whiff of speyside, balvenie, Glen Grant, dried wooden notes, hint of cherry and vanilla. Expect this is a bourbon cask with maybe a finishing in Sherry. Taste: alcohol is strong up front. Strong character of grapefruit and peach. A little water smooths it out.

Nose is pungent and features ripe melon, apricot marmalade, bubblegum, peach, honey, vanilla, chocolate malt, rubber, and pear. Minimal ethanol presence, which is great. This is quite the departure for Balcones. Palate matches the nose almost precisely, with added flavors of cereal grains, and caramel drizzled flan. Flavors are rich and robust to the point of being mouth fatiguing so my review sized pour was definitely a little too much, but that’s a flaw I can live with. Finish is a delightful blend of caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, pineapple upside down cake, and chocolate. Very “ice cream sundae”. These notes coming out of the fruitiness of the nose and palate are both surprising and welcome. Finish is insanely long with the sweet notes eventually taking a turn into a spicy bloom with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a hint of cherry wood. Mouthfeel is thick and chewy. A fruit forward Balcones? Magical! This is one of the best whiskeys in their portfolio along with being a total sleeper. My only real critique is that it’s not in any way subtle or refined and is probably best in smaller doses. “Isn’t that a good thing?” some would ask and to that I say; do you want to eat a piece of chocolate cake or the whole cake? That said, I can’t deny that this is quite delicious. At $79, I have no problem placing this in rebuy status.