Balcones FR. OAK Texas Single Malt

Nose: Deep and intense nose. Burned butter, cognac, plum pudding, baked fig and orange tart, dark almost-burnt Christmas cake. There's a note that isn't smoke but it's reminiscent of something scorched - it's vaguely like a wood-fired cooking stove. Lots of warm (but not hot) spices. With water the nose opens and shows some vanilla but most prominently it showcases the quality of the casks with an aroma of fresh, crisp well-managed barrel. Palate: A no-holds-barred arrival of strong alcohol, hefty baking spices, dark fruitcake, espresso, very dark chocolate and very strong oak tannins. Again there's that phantom almost-but-not-quite smoky presence and a hefty treacle flavour. The texture is medium. With water this whisky really shows its complexity and depth. It gains sweetness, more spice, considerably more fruitiness (of a less baked quality) and changes character in a very pleasant manner. Finish: Medium/long. Baking spices, dark chocolate and prickly baked fruit that slowly subside into a mildly oaky aftertaste. There's a little puff of aromatic smoky spice right at the end. Adding water intensifies the bitter chocolate note in the finish, considerably lengthens it, and a cereal sweetness appears. This is a big, bold and assertive whisky that is also quite stylish and certainly not a simple bludgeon to the senses. The relatively high proof is not overpowering and has surprisingly little burn. It's mellow but not soft or simple. This is more a cutlass than a club, more a cutting wit than a crude tirade. Being much more used to Scottish malt whisky the profile is a little unusual to my palate, but there are similarities. The nose in particular reminds me of very high proof sherried whisky but it has a distinctive nature. That elusive smoke thing is quite individual but at its heart the nose has the dryness of malt rather than the sweetness of corn. Like all really good noses, it keeps evolving and opening in the glass. The palate is demonstrative and has some of the characteristics of rye whisky but really it is its own thing - Texas malt. I think this is relatively young (2-3 years?) and you taste that youth, but you also sense a greater maturity than would be expected. This is a kid who grew up quick. Adding water uncovers malty notes in the palate and personally I preferred it diluted (but then I always taste high-proof whisky both neat and watered). I really enjoyed this whisky and slowly nosed and sipped it for about an hour while watching a film. I don't think there was any Australian allocation for this particular expression but other Balcones whiskies are available here for around AUS$110-140 which is quite reasonable. I must obtain more of their offerings. My thanks to @Soba45 who shared a tasting dram received from @PBMichiganWolverine. Much appreciated, good sirs. "Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)

A man's 6 year old daughter played truth or dare with his wife before xmas. The woman foolishly chose truth."Is it Santa or you and daddy who brings us presents?" asked the girl. As the man knew to well the woman was cunning and answered "We buy some of them" which was true as her aunties bought the rest. The child was not done however...like her mother she waited until the man was at his most vulnerable....hung over and running late to pick up his wife. "Truth or dare" a small voice piped up from the back seat of the car. The man had his hands full literally with a steering wheel so Truth was his only option. 'How hard can it be he thought?' She's only a fraction of the age of her mother.."I've seen a lot of fake Santas so far..is he actually real?" The man did what he often did when hung over or drunk or pretty much anytime he thought he was smarter than he was and spoke his mind... which ladies and gentlemen is NEVER a good thing in married life. "Well think about it darling how likely do you think it is that magic reindeer fly round the world to 3 billion kids to give them presents and a fat man who is 300 years old squeezes down chimneys in an age of heat pumps and eats approximately 4 billion cookies and drinks 2 billion litres of milk in one night?". Instantly as soon as the words were out of his mouth the man knew he was in deep deep trouble from mumma bear as junior bear who deeply believed in santa more than the man believed whiskey would solve all his problems was also in the car. Desperately he said "Let's talk about this later darling and hey you can all have as much icecream as you want... think about the flavors you want". Picking up his wife and driving home in record time whilst praying no mention of santa or a game of truth or dare would occur he cracked open a present from santa aka @PBMichiganWolverine and wrote #5 in the Santa Chronicles. Man this is a nice dram. Initially young and harsh once your tongue gets used to the flavour the combination of French oak and bourbony flavors marries well. Thanks PBM!

Well, it’s a Saturday evening and me and the Mrs. are settling in watching The Crown (hooked). With a biting chill outside and a warming fire in, I pulled this from the sample collection. Perfectly suited for the atmosphere I believe this one should be, courtesy of Mr. Pranay (of course). A rich, dark amber-copper liquid colors contrast the clear copita glass. Take dates, figs, raisins, oranges, apples and blend them together. Add cinnamon and vanilla and stew the in an oaken pot. As it blends, steeps and melds, add milk chocolate shavings and Brioche bread to add sweetness, maltiness and yeastiness. This constitutes the full and broad nose. The arrival is hot and spicy and takes another sip or two to acclimate and taste the flavors. The flavors are dense and thick of but hard to discern. Dark chocolate (think 95% cocoa), dark coffee, dark fruits, cinnamon, cloves, cracked black pepper with oak tannins swimming freely about. Two tablespoons of water softens the brashness on the palate. That sweeter side is brought forward and the spice is pushed back while retaining the cinnamon and nutmeg; unchanged. Fruits are a bit more vibrant and a hint of grape and black cherry appears while retaining all the drying oak tannins. A long and extremely drying finish with remnants of currents and chocolate and cinnamon and oaken charcoal, almost ashy. A Texan palate punch. A rich aroma and a rich palate packed with a strong foundation. Big and bold. If this finds your way, find, be sure to allocate time as this needs time; time to open, time to explore and time to enjoy. With the addition of water, the dram becomes approachable while retaining it’s character. But I find without water, the boldness is an enjoyable unbridled, muscular dram. Find your perfect pour since you can create it to your liking managing the proper amount of water. Thank you @PBMichiganWolverine for providing me this generous sample (as always). [90/100][Tasted: 1/8/21]

Continuing on my Balcones tour, next up was going to be their Brimstone, but the sample seems to have vanished. After asking my wife and daughter and digging throughout the house, I’ve accepted it was either a hide and seek game gone wrong or Santa’s off season dry run where he fuels up with booze instead of cookies. Either way, it’s missing and instead of it, I’ll be moving on to the French Oak single malt sample that was generously provided by @jonwilkinson7309. The nose starts with toasted cinnamon raisin bread slathered in melted butter then come fruits of cherries jubilee, candied orange peel, figgy pudding that slowly transitions to spices of cinnamon, cloves, earl grey tea, leather and antique polished oak with a high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with brioche bread, then fruits of raisins, orange zest, peach cobbler followed by cacao nibs, toasted walnuts, leather and tannic oak with high ethanol burn that finishes medium length with dark chocolate, espresso, candied cherries, orange zest, bit-o-honey candy, figgy pudding, leather and tannic oak. Yet another tasty whiskey from Balcones that brings in those big bold flavors, but the tannic oak and high alcohol dominate the palate making identifying flavors harder before fading into a mild tannic finish with those coffee, dark chocolate, and dark fruit notes. This isn’t as tannic of a finish as the True Blue cask strength, but not as balanced as the Blue Corn bourbon putting this right in the middle ground between the two.

Nose - rich caramel, raisin, fig, dark chocolate, brown butter, cinnamon toast, apple, grilled peach, nutmeg, clove, rich oak, vanilla, black pepper, ash, leather, tobacco, cherry, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - raisin toast, apple, dark chocolate, coffee, rich salted caramel, cinnamon, allspice, molasses, maple, graham cracker, nutmeg, clove, spicy oak, vanilla bean, toasted marshmallow, black cherry, black pepper, tobacco, leather, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing long with rich caramel, tannic oak, dark chocolate, and strong baking spice flavors. Based on the week I’ve had with Balcones, it should come as no surprise that this French Oak offering is another winner. The aromas and flavors are cranked to eleven, as you’d expect with Balcones. The caramel, dark chocolate, and baking spice notes are extremely rich and balanced nicely by sweet dark fruit flavors. The finish lingers for what seems like minutes, allowing ample time to reflect on the experience between sips. It’s crazy that this amount of richness can exist in a spirit aged fewer than two years, but I’m no longer surprised by this in Texas whiskies. Unfortunately, the French Oak doesn’t appear to be widely available. I can’t find a retail price for this, but I’m assuming it’s at or above the $100 mark. I won’t be searching this out to add to my collection, but it’s delicious and absolutely worth trying if you can find it. Luckily I didn’t have to, as @jonwilkinson7309 very generously provided this sample for me to review.

Dark as heck Nose - well hello sweet oaky goodness. Where have you been? The nose is like some really dark wooden table. Then a jammy note and some possible cherries and berry note. Tobacco, leather, all those older whisky notes. Taste - The flavor is much the same, only turned up to 11. This is shockingly drying, super oaky, and yet couldn't be a more enjoyable oak flavor. I get some of the transitional balcones single malt elements. Cinnamon, kinda funky and burned malt. A bit more sweetness with a drop of water. I get some almost maple like notes and oddly not a lot of bite from the french oak that I'd expect, just a more full and intense oak. Or is there so much french oak spice that I can't separate it from just drying alcohol? If you want a white oak element with the balcones malt, you really can't go wrong with this. once again thanks to matt for the sample. I hate reviewing off just a sample and this might be the one I most hate reviewing from a sample as I would really like to spend a week with this. It's got real potential to move into my higher scores but for now 2.50, firmly above average but I set the bar awfully high on a 3.0. That said I think this one has all the makings of a 3.0 and could be there if it were a bit less drying.