skillerified
Balcones Peated Texas Single Malt Whisky
American Single Malt — Texas, USA
Reviewed
February 11, 2021 (edited July 19, 2022)
N: Woodsy, salty, medicinal - something very specific that I think is wood charcoal, but I'm not 100% certain. I'm going with it anyway. Swirl releases stone fruit, caramel, vanilla - all drenched in charcoal smoke. Hints of fine tobacco - cigarette smoke, cigar ash. Bacon and figs, baked goods, sweet bread. Earthy and peaty, but less than a traditional peated Scotch. Nuts soured with citrus juice. Definitely some ethanol, but comes with the territory of the proof (67.9% ABV on this bottle - or is it 62.9%? Handwritten label...). Incredible nose. Truly a monster.
P: Intensely sweet with the Balcones pecan pie hallmark. Smoked nuts. Smoked and grilled fruit. Lots of bitterness, which just counters the sweet and really works for me (I expect some would hate this though). Super rich salted caramel. Spicy cinnamon starts to mix in. Slightly stale, crispy burnt bread. Mint and menthol, oddly like a young rye (there's no rye in this). Finish is crazy spicy - hot cinnamon quickly builds to something just a hair below habanero chili pepper. Lots of tannic bitterness lingers through the end, but it's still blackstrap molasses sweet.
Incredible whisky. Shock and awe type of sheer power. I only knock it a bit for lacking any sort of subtlety - I tend to like some subtlety. Bottle says this is a minimum of 36 months aged - give it like double that and maybe it gets a little smoother and subtler. I don't think it necessarily needs that, but I also think I would like it. Regardless, this is special, worth seeking out.
Thanks to @Ctrexman for the recommendation. Don't think I would have found this without the help.
80.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@skillerified nice. Wondering if they started to now have this more across US. Still haven’t seen it here in NYC / NJ area yet
@PBMichiganWolverine I'm in LA. Picked up a second bottle last weekend. Total Wine had restocked - at least a case worth on the shelf (first time, there were only two bottles). May be a Total Wine exclusive out here as it's part of their Spirits Direct program.
@gabericharde hey—-any idea if this will be a wider release outside Texas ?
@soonershrink It's an annual release now (started as a one time distillery only release), but I'm not sure when the annual date is. There were two bottles on the shelf where I picked it up, so maybe I caught it toward the end of the season. I would guess November, December release - somewhere in there.
Sounds incredible. I love peated whiskey and love Balcones. Wish I could find this in Oklahoma.
Great review of an all star whiskey