Balcones Texas Blue Corn Bourbon

Rating: 16/23 I've enjoyed Balcones releases with blue corn so far (except for the Baby Blue), so I'm interested to see what their version of a fairly standard bourbon - but with blue corn - is like. N: So musty and then something that really makes me think of flavored vodka. Ick! It's weird. I'm not getting the corn in that mustiness. It's just kind of underdeveloped and unenjoyable. It may need a few minutes. I do get a little bit of meat right now, which is not great. Hints of caramel, barrel spices, and caramel, but they're very faint. A few minutes later, this still hasn't really developed. I guess this is all I get. P: Caramel with musty blue corn sweetness. A weird fruity layer mixed with some bitter herbal flavors. Maybe a little apricot with a bit of tangerine? Very odd for a bourbon. The bitter herbal flavors are more standard and kind of nondescript. There's a hint of char and some definite sour mash character. I get ginger and black pepper as the main spices. This is increasingly bitter, spicy, and tart. Overall, the palate is good, but kind of bland and not super balanced. It's slightly odd, but not in a way that particularly engages me. There are some hints of maple syrup and char in here, which are kind of interesting. The stand-out flavor though is the blue corn mustiness. F: Kind of bitter and charred with some hot spices. Occasionally, I get bits of musty corn. There's not a lot happening here and it doesn't have the sweet decadence I'd hoped for. - Conclusion - Old Forester 1920 (18/23) is definitely better than this. It's decadent and more interesting. This is more muddled and dull. I'm inclined to place this above my single barrel cask strength Garrison Brothers bottling (15/23), but not by a whole lot. They're close. This could be a 15 or a 16. Russell's Reserve 10 (15-16/23) is more complex than this and also more approachable. It strikes me as likely a little better. That indicates to me that I should be giving this a 15. It's solid, but it's a pretty disappointing dram. Still, I can definitely imagine giving this a 16. Coming back to this, it definitely beats the Garrison Brothers. It might be on the high end of the Russell's Reserve though. I'm thinking now that this is more likely to be a 16. Pikesville Rye (16/23) is pretty on-par with this too. I think that this needs to be a 16. Thanks for sharing this one @soonershrink !

Nose: Big, bold, and oaked - very oaked, to the point of being drying and bitter. There's a touch of new make funk going on here that I suspect is due to this being so young. Burnt sugar, vanilla extract, and char. Dusty corn, cigar tobacco, leather. Real maple syrup on blueberry pancakes and browned butter. Over-roasted coffee. Some wintergreen vibes buried in the background. I'd love to run this side-by-side with Stagg Jr. - I remember that being much more abrasive and throwing you around the room a bit more. Which is to say that this noses below its proof, though it's definitely still high proof. Palate: The proof and oak combine to make this a big wave of flavor and texture. Again, charred oak is leading the charge here, along with burnt corn nuts and a bit of vanilla frosting. Tannic. Reduced macerated red fruits. Buttered popcorn. Hot baking spices and black pepper out the wazoo. This is all mid and back palate. It's like something broke the EQ knobs from turning them all up too high - this is SRV at the end of a show playing Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). He'd take his hand and just roll every knob up on every amp all the way. Medium mouthfeel. Finish: You'll be shocked to know that there's just a tremendous mountain of oak, burnt caramel, and vanilla. The ethanol is cooling during retronasal olfaction and the Kentucky hug here is warming. Things slowly die down and we get all sorts of orange, chocolate, leather, sumatran cigar tobacco, black pepper... The tannins and oils here let this just hang out. Eventually some menthol and mint character gets revealed, and then everything fades out on burnt popcorn and oak. Medium long length. Other notes: This bottle is 27 months old and sits at 130 proof. And while I rarely discuss appearance, this stuff is insanely dark for only being 2 years and 3 months old. I keep coming back to this and picking it apart. This requires a lot of acclimation for me - I'm a few glasses into this bottle and while the base flavor profile is consistent, I'm finding new things moreso than I do just day-to-day. This may very well become apart of my "gotta always have" club. Highly recommend if cask strength, super-oaked whiskeys are your thing.

I’ve somehow found myself in a Balcones kick right now, they seem to be one of the few distilleries that make really solid whiskey and sell them at very reasonable prices. Whereas other distilleries are pushing out too young or sourced NDP spirits for hundreds or thousands, Balcones just keeps pushing out incredible products for under $100. Granted not all of them work for me, but there are plenty of different palates out there than mine and there seems to be something for every enthusiast or everyday drinker to enjoy from them. Continuing on my Balcones tour, I have a sample this blue corn bourbon at 128 proof thanks to @jonwilkinson7309 to try. The nose starts with freshly made buttermilk blueberry flapjacks coated in grade a very dark maple syrup followed by wild flowers, then comes old leather saddles, hay and sun soaked old barn with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a thick oily mouthfeel starting with freshly baked cornbread drenched in honey before fruits of orange peel, cherries jubilee, and apple pie filling with candied pecans that slowly transitions to spices of cayenne pepper, pipe tobacco, leather and old musty oak with high ethanol burn that finishes long with espresso, dark chocolate, dehydrated figs, dates, candied pecans, cornbread covered in whipped honey butter, worn down cowboy boots and pipe tobacco that lingers for minutes. This is a fantastic whiskey that has those big, bold flavors that Balcones tends to bring, but still manages a balanced flow without any flavor overpowering the others. In a side by side comparison with Garrison Brothers Cowboy bourbon, it was surprisingly close but the Cowboy had more balance whereas this is a bit more tannic and bigger ethanol burn even though this is a lower proof. So even though the Cowboy managed to edge it out, if you factor in price, this is under $100 for a bourbon that comes really close to a $200+ whiskey. If a big, bold, cask strength whiskey works for you and you happen to be lucky enough to find this in a store, grab one and get ready for a big Texas bourbon treat.

Nose - butterscotch, vanilla bean, dusty corn, funnel cake, caramel corn, honey, milk chocolate, baked apple, cherry, rich oak, orange zest, black pepper, sweet dough, nutmeg, cinnamon, leather, tobacco, floral note, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - caramel corn, butterscotch, vanilla, cherry, powdered sugar, apple, rich oak, chili pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, dark chocolate, coffee, leather, tobacco, lemon, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing long with rich caramel, coffee, baking spice, and citrus zest flavors. Oh yes. I knew I was going to like this, and I do. Balcones does corn whiskey right, and this is no exception. It’s rich, deeply sweet, and powerful. And pours with an extremely dark, beautiful mahogany color. The nose has everything you want in corn whiskey. Caramel, vanilla, sweet fruits, and confectioneries, underpinned with rich chocolate, marked baking spices, leather, and strong oak. The palate is rather similar. Oily, rich, and brash. Did I mention it was rich? Texas whiskey just hits different. No surprises here. This is right in my wheelhouse. I was very close to giving this a rare 4.5, but it’s just slightly hotter and brighter than it probably should be. A bit more time in the barrel would likely have elevated this. But honestly, I kinda like that it’s so hot. It slaps you around, and sometimes that’s what you need after a long day. And what’s better? This is $55 a bottle! And what’s even better than that? It seems that the new batch just dropped. I snagged one online at a Total Wine near me. If you like bold Texas whiskey, buy one. I doubt you’ll be disappointed at that price. A huge thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for introducing me to this one. It’s a gem.

Toasted caramel, vanilla, cornbread baked over a mesquite fire, fresh ground coffee beans, dark chocolate. It's got a salty and savory element that gives another layer of complexity. The finish goes on and on and has a lot of similarity to other Balcones whiskies. I even get a hint of the peach note that I taste especially in the Lineage, although more grilled peach than peach gummy ring. I've been running it up against some of the other barrel proof bourbons in the cabinet, and I believe this can competently keep company with other heavyweights like Stagg Jr., JDSiBBP, Elijah Craig BP, and even Garrison Brothers Cowboy. You could say this a poor man's Cowboy. I will note that right out of the bottle this was pretty hot even on the nose, but a splash of water and 15 minutes to rest did this one wonders. I am curious about the age statement on this one, as it appears to show aged at least 77 months, which seems exceptionally long for Balcones. I noticed someone else said 27 months, so I wonder if there was a misprint on my bottle. Regardless, this stuff is fabulous and I would like to find a backup for this one. Update: I did find a backup bottle which had the same batch number and date, and it was marked as aged 37 months, so I believe the first bottle was just mismarked.

This is my first Distiller review. Had to leave some love for this dram because it’s one of the most unique and well-balanced bourbons I’ve had. And I think it’s been poorly represented. Bought my bottle the first week of October 2018 Color: dark almost maple syrup Amber. One of the darkest I’ve seen. Nose: Caribbean rum cake, sweet prunes, overripe fruit, allspice. One of the most unique bourbon noses to date for me. Palate: ripe dark fruit, oak, chai spice, oily, prune, tobacco, and vanilla. Extremely well balanced. Doesn’t punch you in the face with the proof. Finish: Long, complex, definitely more of the licorice and tobacco and oak spice. But all sweet with a molasses undertone. Overall... this is top shelf for me. If you love cask strength... buy it. If you love unique flavors and aren’t afraid of something a little different... get it. One of the most well balanced bourbons I’ve had. I will be picking up a 2nd bottle so I can thoroughly enjoy this dram at my leisure. Much love to Balcones for creating a unique and quality offering in the bourbon market. Hopefully it gets more recognition and wins some more awards because it’s worthy. Til then I’ll stock up ;)