soonershrink
Balcones Blue Corn Bourbon Whisky Finished in Wine Casks
Bourbon — USA
Reviewed
February 9, 2023 (edited April 12, 2023)
As is typical with Balcones, big and bold. The roasty toasty Balcones note is front and center. Then strawberry jam on a tortilla chip. Sweet and salty kettle corn cooked in cast iron over a wood fire. Buttered cornbread. Dusty lumber. A little water brings out more caramel. A little more water and the fruit comes across more like raspberry.
I was skeptical about this one, because I don't generally care for secondary finishes on bourbon, but it works really well here. I might like this more than the regular Blue Corn Bourbon, but unfortunately I didn't think to keep any to compare when I finished my last bottle a couple weeks ago. I don't think it rises quite to the level of their peated single malts, and I think the special releases from Ironroot and Garrison Brothers are still a bit ahead of them in regards to Texas bourbon, but this is very good and I'm strongly considering ordering another bottle.
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@Ctrexman lol. I got that sulfury liquid antibiotic that they give your kids for an ear infection. It’s definitely out there.
@BDanner the pot still bourbon is where I got Bowling alley lol
@soonershrink Its a heavy wet cask finish, I like it but paid too much $89
@soonershrink I agree that it’s not a lot to write home about, but it was easy to satisfy my curiosity for $30 and it definitely piqued my interest in their special releases if I should see them. I definitely got that roasty toasty vibe from this.
@BDanner I haven't found that their entry-level whiskies are much to write home about, but many of their cask strength special releases are fantastic.
@Ctrexman what do you think of the wine finished SM?
Just picked up my first Balcones yesterday (don’t see any of their stuff very often in North Carolina), the Pot Still Bourbon. It’s a little on the young side, and has some weird notes going on but overall I thought it was pretty good and reasonably priced at about $30. Looking forward to trying some more of their stuff.
Sounds really good. Balcones keeps em coming..... I have the wine finished single malt going now