Balcones Texas Straight Bourbon Spring 2021 Single Cask #8 (Lost Lantern)

Two years can be really long or not long enough. It depends on the context, right? For example, in business school I dated this one woman, for close to 2 years ( more like 1 3/4 year ) who was a stripper unbeknownst to me. Those two years weren’t long enough. I wish that lasted at least a decade. But some two years are too long. Case and point—- my first job out of college was at a large pharmaceutical, where my job for 8 hours a day was to hold rhesus monkeys and force them to urinate into a test tube. Sterilize the test tubes, dry them, and then do all sorts of perverted things to these simians for the sake of greater science. Eight hours a day. Every day. For two whole fucking years. That’s an example of where two years can be too long. This whiskey here, graciously sent by @ctbeck11, seems to be a case where the two years are perfect. Waves of caramel and oak. A punch of vanilla. Sure …lacks the complexity of an ECBP or a Garrison Cowboy, but it makes up for it in youthful exuberance. One of the two best Balcones I’ve had ( the other one being a tequila cask matured Balcones). My vote for top dog in the American whiskey scene had always been Balcones, and this is an example of their creme de la creme.

This was consumed several weeks ago, but I'm not sure what happened to my review. So this is from memory. I tried this side-by-side with Balcones Blue Corn Bourbon. I remember this one feeling a little smoother and sweeter, the rough edges of Blue Corn smoothed out a little, despite this being younger than the Blue Corn. Sounds like it should taste better, but with Balcones sometimes rough edges are a feature more than a flaw. I wonder if some might think the 2021 Peated is less interesting than the 2020 for the same reason. Overall, I would rate this as an equal to the Blue Corn, depending on whether you want something smoother or want to be roughed up a little. Thanks to @ctbeck11 for the sample.

Rating: 22/23 I think I read somewhere that this is only about 2 years old, which makes me highly skeptical. At the same time, I read fantastic reviews of it, so I'm hopeful. I guess I'll just have to see (taste). N: Quite a big nose. I do get some alcohol, but it's more the amount I would expect of a 60+% ABV bourbon, not nearly as much as I would normally expect from a 2 year old bourbon. It's toasty-woody with some subdued corn sweetness. The wood doesn't seem overly tannic. I get sort of a medium roast coffee bringing in roasted, slightly tart, and mild herbal notes. Hints of tart cherry here and there. At a couple points I got a tad of something savory like young alcohol, but that note quickly vanished. Ocassionally I get a bit of a burst of dried fruits (cherry, raisin, sultana, and maybe a couple of others) that reminds me of a grande champagne cognac. This nose started out bold but uncomplex; however, after a few minutes in my glencairn, it has opened up tremendously, developing lots of complexity with some really great smells and even a little more boldness than it started with and at least as much balanced. There's that one, occasional off smell, but it's easy to look past on the nose and I don't expect to taste it on the palate. Coming back a few minutes later, the fruits have become more syrupy, yet they don't seem overly sweet. It's just decadent. P: Rich, full, moderately high viscosity, lots of burn. First it hits me with that cognac fruit layer, but that quickly disappears and I get toastiness for a moment, before it heads into medium roast coffee city. I get char, tartness, a little bit of herbal character. All the while, there is a soft corn sweetness underneath. The tartness turns into a flash of bright cherry and then the cognac fruits come back in. I do occasionally get a hint of that maple that I get from Balcones Single Malt. The early and mid-palate are good, but it's really the late palate heading into the finish where this shines the brightest. Initially, there is a bit of a bite to this. It isn't exactly harsh, but it's a flavor that harsh whiskey often has - just a sharp bitterness with vaguely prickling spice. I do get some alcohol flavor in there, but there are also some flavors of clove and black pepper, along with maybe hints of cinnamon and allspice, helping to explain it. I would hope that if I drained the bottle by a third and left it for several months, this aspect would smooth out a bit. F: A delightfully hedonistic, complex, balanced, and long finish of medium roast coffee bitterness, tartness, and light herbal variation mixed with some decadent dried fruits. Occasionally, the coffee develops a little bit of a dry wood note, but that's infrequent. Some 50% dark chocolate at times even. - Conclusion - I wouldn't have guessed that a barrel this young could be nearly this good, but clearly the folks over at Lost Lantern know better than I do. They absolutely nailed it on this barrel. OK, time to put this side by side with some giants. This isn't quite as full as my cask strength bottle of Garrisson Brothers Single Barrel, but it is much more complex with less woody austerity. Although the Garrisson Brothers has improved substantially over time, it still isn't amazing and isn't at all on the same level as this is. Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof (21/23) starts with a definite alcohol flavor too, but it's less pointed and quickly is enveloped by the oily viscosity. Although just as hedonistic, the Jack Daniel's never achieves the level of complexity that this does, so I have to give this the win. Going cross-category here: El Dorado 21 (21/23). The El Dorado similarly surprised me with its cognac character. The El Dorado is smoother, though not necessarily more balanced or complex. Without getting into the details too much, I think I prefer this. It's not blowing the El Dorado out of the water, but it definitely seems better. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B520 (22/23) has more of a traditional sour mash flavor to it while maintaining somewhat similar coffee to this one, plenty more barrel spices, and a bit of chocolate. There really isn't much fruit in the Elijah Craig, but it's similarly balanced and complex. This one kind of spreads its balance wider, taking on more different - and unusual - flavors, whereas the Elijah Craig is more focused on its traditional bourbon profile. It's actually a pretty tough call between the two, but I've finally concluded that as each currently stands the Elijah Craig is a slightly better bourbon. That said, I can imagine that this given several months of air would smooth out enough while maintaining its complexity to crush the Elijah Craig. After all, I did originally give the Elijah Craig an 18 before it got all of that air. I don't know how long this was sitting in an open bottle before being bottled up for me, but I doubt that it was very long. Considering how close this is to the Elijah Craig, I'm going with a 22. I can imagine anything in the 21 to 23 range for this, though I feel like a 23 is more likely than a 21 at this point. Even with the Elijah Craig being slightly better, I have to give this some serious applause. At a mere 2 years, I didn't think that any whiskey could be this rich, full, complex, and balanced. A huge thanks to @ctbeck11 for sending me a sample of this! It is the best demonstration of the abilities of both Lost Lantern and Balcones that I have yet to find. I'm thoroughly impressed by this bourbon and am delighted to be posting this tasting of it as my 1100th.

The nose is thick and rich that starts with a blonde roast caramel macchiato followed by grade a dark maple syrup covered flapjacks then fruits of stewed plums, fresh dates, sautéed cinnamon apples, and black cherries that transitions to red hot candy, ginger, nutmeg, worn cowboy boots and cherry wood burning in a fireplace with high ethanol burn. The taste is a viscous oily maple syrup texture that starts with a high oak spice that fades to blonde roast caramel macchiato followed by flapjacks cooked in brown butter then fruits of prunes, cinnamon apple pie, and charred orange peel that transitions a high drying spice that slowly fades to chocolate covered candied pecans, ginger, nutmeg, worn cowboy boots and ashy tannic oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with ashy tannic oak, espresso, chocolate covered marshmallow, apple chips, black cherries and candied pecans. Balcones certainly knows how to make a big bold flavorful whiskey that starts with an amazing nose filled with coffee, citrus, bready notes and barrel spices that carries over to the taste but veers towards a high drying spice mid-palate that then reveals some nutty chocolate notes along with ashy bitter oak that finishes with a characteristic Balcones of citrus, espresso, berries, toasted marshmallow but an overabundance of tannic ashy oak remains throwing off the balance. In a side by side with the Barrell 15 year (2021) edition, this held its own which is very impressive to keep up with a $220 whiskey but if tannic oak can easily overpower your palate like me, you might want to look elsewhere. A huge thanks to @ctbeck11 for the generous sample for me to taste.

Nose - coffee, black cherry, rich caramel, dark chocolate, vanilla, dusty corn, leather, black pepper, tobacco, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, dense oak, plum, peanut, orange pith, apple, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - baked apple, dark chocolate, coffee, salted caramel, molasses, chili pepper, orange, lemon, leather, cornbread, vanilla, tobacco, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, allspice, rich oak, pecan, walnut, spearmint, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing long with dark chocolate, coffee, baking spice, and deep oak flavors. Well my Texas whiskey review series is sadly coming to an end. As you can tell from my ratings, Texas did not disappoint, and this Balcones single cask is no exception. The pour is extremely dark, foreshadowing the rich, decadent experience. Coffee, dark chocolate, massive baking spices, and rich oak lead on the nose. Dark fruits and nutty nougat are in the mix as well. The palate hits hard. Those dark notes are delivered in a thick, oily mouthfeel, with molasses, baked fruit, leather, tobacco, and a minty, peppery zing. What a wonderful bourbon! And at only two years old, its richness and maturity boggle the mind. I wish I had the Blue Corn Bourbon to taste side by side with this, but based on my recollection, this is rather similar. My main issue with it was the youthfulness on the palate, and this one doesn’t have that problem. This is another knockout of a single cask offering by Lost Lantern and par for the course with the quality I’ve come to expect from Balcones.