Battle of the Balcones Single Malts
If your wife ever says……
“Let’s go to Waco, TX so we can visit Magnolia Market”, which is home to Chip and Joanna Gaine’s Fixer Upper empire, please say YES! You can let her visit the Magnolia Market, then you can work your way to the Balcones Dilstillery, which is only half a mile from Magnolia. While there, you can take in some of the best Texas Whiskey there is.
Being from Texas, I have known about Balcones Distilling for some time, however, it gained large notoriety in 2014, when Forbes Magazine Featured them in an article, which was titled: Finest New Whiskey In The World: Not From A Glen In Scotland But From Under A Bridge In Texas. Those are some strong words from a very reputable magazine.
What I really like about Balcones, is that they have such a unique variety of products. Many of their offerings really transcend descriptions. Their Balcones Rumble for example is like a hybrid rum/whiskey that is truly one of a kind. They also have their own bourbons, rum, corn and rye whiskies as well. For more on their offerings, I highly recommend checking out their site to take a look.
Today, we will take a look at and rank three different expressions of their Single Malt Whisky. This stuff has raked more awards and accolades than Forrest Gump (the movie and character portrayed in it). Their site says that “Texas Single Malt breathes new life into centuries of distilling tradition with classic techniques and ingredients adapted for New World tastes.” I say it tastes good. Without further ado, lets take a look at our competitors.
Balcones Single Malt-Single Barrel
The Single Malt Single Barrel was picked up from our local store, Specs and the barrel was hand picked for their stores. This varies from our other two expressions we are taking a look at, since it is an annual special release, and also comes in at 59.5 abv, or 119 proof. It is also a little pricier than the other two and will run about $76 a bottle. The back of the bottle, pictured above has a little blurb on the whisky and also shows the date is was distilled and bottled. This bottle was aged for a little under 3 years, but really shows how Texas heat can age a barrel pretty quickly. The juice in this bottle is pretty dark, showing that the barrel really did some work on this thing.
Tasting notes:
NOSE
We got a lot of sweetness in the nose. Honey, fruit, bananas and slight citrus.
TASTE
With the nose, I was expecting it to taste way sweeter than it was, however that is balanced out well with the extra heat that this bottle packs from it’s proof. Little notes of agave, oak and vanilla.
FINISH
Finish is long, the sugar notes stick around and is pretty rich when sampled neat.
Single Malt-Pot Distilled
This must be a newer offering, since I haven’t been able to find any information for this on the Balcones website. They have information on their Pot Distilled Bourbon, however, this has a different recipe. I am wondering if this iteration is going to replace the traditional Classic Edition. Our bottle comes in at 53% abv, or 106 proof. A bottle will run you $63.
Tasting notes
NOSE
Sweet corn, honey, citrus and a little apple at the end.
TASTE
Once again, the sweetness of the nose doesn’t overpower the taste and make it too sweet. Balances the sweetness with a little buttery taste and citrus notes. Very smooth, especially compared to the Single Barrel.
FINISH
Sweetness comes in a bit at the end, a little bit of dark chocolate with pleasant citrus.
Single Malt-Classic Edition
This is the oldest bottle from our test and as you can see from the back label, it was bottled in January of 2015. I opened it shortly after that, and it has been selectively and carefully enjoyed for special occasions. This bottle took me forever to find and is a treasured part of my collection. This comes in at 53% abv, or 106 proof and cost about $70 today. It is interesting to note that the Pot Distilled shares the same back label as this bottle.
NOSE
Sweetness again, more of a caramel smell, butter, fruity, banana and citrus.
TASTE
Very smooth, buttery, oak, vanilla bread notes, pear and citrus.
FINISH
Long , lingering finish butter and fruity flavors remain, hint of smoke, orange and citrus with just the right amount of sweetness.
The sampling process:
Three of us busted out these bottles the other night and sampled them one by one. Two of us used Glencairn glasses, while one unnamed member of the group used a glass of ice. We don’t judge here though and go by the old adage, “the right way to drink whiskey, is any want you like to”. We all sampled the bottles one at a time and at the end gave our final rankings, which are as follows:
#3-Balcones Single Malt Pot Distilled
#2-Balcones Single Malt Single Barrel-Specs Private Selection
And our winner is…….
Single Malt Classic Edition
Make no mistake, all three of these were REALLY good, which made them really hard to rank. I had the Pot Distilled rated as my number one, however, the other two in the group ranked the Classic as their number one, edging out my vote. All of us had the Single Barrel as our number two and the Pot Distilled had one first place vote and two third place votes.
While tasting these, it was amazing to see how something from the same recipe can be so similar, but different at the same time. It was really fun to get a group of friends and experience great bottles from Balcones together. If have not tried any of the Balcones Single Malt, do yourself a favor and pick some up
And just remember, when your wife asks if you want to go to Magnolia Market in Waco, SAY YES!
