ctbeck11
Balcones Peated Texas Single Malt Whisky
American Single Malt — Texas, USA
Reviewed
August 4, 2021 (edited August 20, 2023)
Nose - acrid peat, toasted barley, toffee, ash, burnt chocolate chip cookie, orange zest, sunscreen, peach, smoked meat, vanilla, apricot, fig, plum, brown sugar, rich oak, brown butter, mint, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vegetal and herbal notes, walnut, moderate to high ethanol burn.
Taste - juicy peach, apricot, seared peat, barley sugar, fig, apple, plum, salted caramel, vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, dark chocolate, orange zest, tannic oak, sweet floral notes, spearmint, cashew butter, toasted marshmallow, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing long with sweet stone fruit, smoked barley, baking spice, and chocolate flavors.
This is stunning whiskey. Yes, it’s young. It’s hot. It’s imperfect. But it’s absolutely outstanding. Of course, I love this Texas whiskey profile, so I understand why others may give this a low rating and call it overproofed, underaged, and overoaked. It’s probably all of those things, but it just burns so good.
I’m not going to comment further on the nose and palate, because I just want to enjoy the rest of the dram. But it’s complex. There’s a lot going on, and it’s all fantastic. Balcones is crushing it, and I’m buying what they’re selling. A gigantic thank you to @pkingmartin for introducing me to this whiskey and gifting me my first bottle. I bought another, and I might even buy a third.
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@ctbeck11 savoring this tonight....totally getting burnt chocolate chip cookie, spot on great note
@ctbeck11 ah that does happen. They for some reason can't close it out of the system. I have had that happen a few times. My guess is that is what is happening.
@PBMichiganWolverine @dubz480 It still shows as in stock, so I’m assuming it’s not actually there. I guess I could call and check. I’ll make the drive this weekend if it is, but I doubt it. I recently moved out of an ABC state to one with independents. I’ve found a few really good ones, and plan to take most of my business to them moving forward.
@Ctrexman Absolutely. Lineage is on my short list of best value whiskies out there.
@ctbeck11 it maybe the specific Total Wine. Out here in Phoenix only the flagship store carries this expression. The rest show it but they don't have it. Generally I try and givey biz to the local guys as even the pricing at TW isn't what it used to be!
@ctbeck11 that’s happened to me at Total Wine. So, if there’s only a bottle left, by the time someone comes to pick your order and put it in the back, a customer can walk in and purchase the last one. Happened to me when I tried to buy Blue Spot for $100.
This is my favorite Balcones too....great review.........that Lineage though for 30 bucks is amazing
@PBMichiganWolverine Unfortunately, I’m out for now. And Total Wine let me down by cancelling my order. I’m definitely in the market for a bottle. Hoping one pops up somewhere soon.
@ctbeck11 the Lost Lantern one seems to be also a blue corn —if you have more of the Balcones blue corn, you should do a side by side
@jonwilkinson7309 @PBMichiganWolverine Of the nine Balcones releases I’ve reviewed, this is my favorite. The Blue Corn is a VERY close second. And I could see myself liking that one more on some days. Depends on whether I want bourbon or peated malt. These two stand alone for me. Others like Brimstone, French Oak, and the Tequila Cask are delicious as well, but they’re vying for the bronze. I’ll be reviewing the Lost Lantern Balcones single cask toward the end of this Texas series. I doubt it’ll top this one, but we’ll see. Tomorrow, I’ll shift gears to the first of three Garrison Brothers offerings. Honeydew, Single Barrel Cask Strength, and the 2020 Balmorhea. I reviewed the 2021 a few months back, so it’ll make for an interesting comparison.
And after you answer @jonwilkinson7309 ’s ...mine is which is your favorite Balcones ?
So, in the assault by Texas whiskey competition, which one wins - Balcones Peated or the Blue Corn Bourbon?