Balcones Peated Texas Single Malt Whisky

This will grow some hair on your chest. Regardless if you’re male or female. It’s damn potent, hot, and firing on all cylinders. So I generally haven’t found an American peated whiskey that’s as good as an equivalent priced Scottish peated. I find the Americans generally one dimensional, young , and hot. I would expect peat to add layers of complexity ( think Springbank or Laphroaig or Lagavulin). So, I know I’m in the minority, but my standard of comparison is skewed towards a baseline set by industry leaders in peated whiskey. This is good…don’t get me wrong. But it’s potent heat, charred meat, and some fruit. It’s young…which is what I feel is really holding it back. Simply needs a bit more time to age. Nonetheless, it’s good, and our American standard of what is a good peated whiskey. Thanks @pkingmartin for the pour!!

Drakes for non kentucky bourbon. Very peated but not bad, drinkable but gave the heart burn feel. Not a fam but good for what it is

Laphroaig but from Texas

Bottled 11/06/2020 Age 3 years 62.9% abv; 125.8 proof Open 17 months Nose - Hot ash and coals, cigar smoke, brisket burnt ends, dark honey, toffee, raisins, heavy oak, and heavy ethanol. Palate - Surprisingly light when it first touches the tongue, light ash, black pepper, hickory chips, grilled peaches, really dry raisins, almonds, unsweetened black tea, and delicious charred meats. Finish is long with strong and bitter oak tannins, Laphroaig ash sans the brine, burnt black tea, hints of honey and raisins, and a medium ethanol bite. When I first cracked this, I thought it was one of the best things I've ever tasted. But as it opens up the sugar and fruit fade while the oak and smoke take over. This happens with almost all Balcones products I've tasted. I like them much more the first few weeks. This cask strength peated malt is stickier, woodier, and smokier than any cask strength Islay I've had. If you want more smoke and ash from an Islay that you're not getting with Laphroaig Cask Strength or Ardbeg Corryvreckan, you'll love this. For me, I think a sherry finish would've made this outstanding, as it needs that fruit component to round it out. It's still really good stuff, but one pour occasionally is enough.

2021 release, aged at least 48 mo, bottled at 59%. I'm not sure how it's possible to improve on perfection, but they've done it. It has all the big bold flavors of the 2020 release, but another year in the barrel has decreased the burn, smoothed out the flavors a little, and seemed to add a touch more vanilla sweetness. This was a pour from a friend's bottle, but I need to get this one in my cabinet.

Balcones Peated Single Malt - 2021 Release Neat // Glencairn Appearance: Ruddy brown with a hint of copper. Like a nicely stained red oak. Legs form quickly and linger. Nose: Freshly opened package of bacon bits, orange zest, apricot and blackberry jam, toasted sourdough. Great variety on the nose. It invites you into the glass and doesn’t punish with alcohol burn, allowing long, deep breaths to take it all in. Just me being a Texan, or is there a red dirt smell here too? Reminds me of turning the A/C on in my granddad’s farm truck on a hot summer day. Great memories unlocked here. Palate: Wow, very distinct transitions across flavor profiles here. Starts with the salty, smoky bacon, then pivots to a juicy slice of blood orange, followed by a nicely buttered slice of sourdough toast. This finishes with a very smooth, luxurious oak spice. Finish: Oak spice starts and simmers nicely with a nice layer of oak smoke over the top. Blonde toast and smoked candied bacon are present as well. Several minutes later, I’m tasting red hots, and a fruit candy concoction - like if you just stuck your hand in a bag of jelly beans and ate everything at once. Beautiful. Finally picked this up after several weeks of waiting, and BOY does this deliver. I especially love the complexity on the finish - I’m still tasting this one 5 - 10 minutes later and unlocking new flavors along the way. This is fantastic stuff that I am extra proud of because it comes from the Great State of Texas. We do whiskey good. 95/100 My scoring system: 59 and below: Bad. Not worth buying. 60 - 69: Decent, but with obvious flaws. Might buy, but very price dependent. 70 - 79: Pleasant to good, worth buying, but nothing spectacular that wows me. 80 - 89: Good to very good. Insta-buys that I actively seek out. Must contain some “wow” moments. 90 - 94: Greatness has been achieved. No detectable flaws, and every moment is sheer pleasure. 95 - 100: This is where I score my “best of all time” drams. Similar to lower 90s, but with something tangible/perceptible that sends it over the top.

All the dark, rich flavors of the classic single malt with an added layer of smoke that persists without becoming too overpowering. Like eating dried fruits by a campfire.

Rating: 16/23 I wasn't too impressed by Balcones Brimstone, but this one has actual peat, so maybe it's better. N: Smoke. Slight savoriness. I'm really struggling to get anything else here. It's pretty unimpressive. Eventually faint apple, coffee, and maybe just the slightest cherry come out. After several minutes, there's a touch of that Balcones sort of tart maple malt. And then it becomes a bit herbal, bringing a bit of peat character to the smoke. P: Ashy, smoky with slight chocolate, some herbal flavor, white pepper, rainbow pepper. There's a nice layer of maple sweetness over tart maltiness. There's a touch of meatiness, but it isn't too much. The pepper and herbaceousness mix well, adding a bit of depth. The smoke is somewhere between campfire and peat. Occasional touches of orange and lemon, with cherry showing up on a bigger sip. It's hot, but not harsh. And at this ABV it would be very surprising were it not hot. F: Smoke, pepper, and sweet malt linger. - Conclusion - I'd put this above Westland Peated (15/23), though not by a huge margin. It doesn't rise to the level of Amrut Peated (17/23). I'm thinking a 16 or 17. I'm not at all confident that this is better than Loch Lomond 12 (16/23), so I'm going to give this a 16 as well. I think there's some real potential here, but it isn't super complex and the profile doesn't quite come together. I do like the Balcones heart that this has, but I don't think that the campfire pairs terribly well with it. Coming back to this for a final couple of sips, the campfire is much less prominent. It's still young, but it has a complexity that surpasses that of Amrut Peated. The flavors taste better integrated than they did previously. I might bump this up to a 17. It's pretty borderline between 16 and 17 now, but I'm going to leave it at a 16. Thanks for the sample @pkingmartin ! I had a lot of different opinions over my time with this. I'd love to get my hands on a bottle so that I can spend some more time contemplating it.