The Pinnacle of American Single Malt
Balcones Unleashed:
Cask Energy Single Malt Icons, Unique to Okay&L
“Balcones has lengthy stood among the many best craft distillers within the U.S….”
— David Othenin-Girard, Okay&L Spirits Purchaser
Balcones has redefined what American single malt will be. These two Okay&L-exclusive barrels—one completed in Madeira, the opposite aged full-term in Oloroso—are among the many most compelling cask energy malts we’ve ever provided. Towering in construction, wildly expressive, and totally singular, they showcase the form of energy and complexity that places Balcones in a category of its personal. In the event you suppose you understand American whisky, these will rewrite the script.
David Othenin-Girard | Okay&L Spirits Purchaser
Balcones has lengthy stood among the many best craft distillers within the U.S., however in recent times, we’ve seen a transparent shift of their focus towards single malt. From my perspective, that’s a clever transfer—as a result of it’s more and more evident that essentially the most thrilling whisky potential on this a part of the world doesn’t come from corn-based spirits. Little or no of the really nice whiskey rising from Texas is bourbon, and admittedly, few producers wherever can match the depth and complexity that Balcones delivers of their cask-strength single barrels.
Whereas the comparability could appear shocking given their wildly totally different kinds, these cask-strength single malts are beginning to resemble the American equal of Kavalan—an ace within the gap that makes neighboring single malts really feel tame by comparability. These whiskies aren’t for followers of delicate Highland malt—a minimum of not straight out of the bottle. As an alternative, they’re for many who crave uncooked energy and presence within the glass.
This barrel isn’t any exception, although it does present a degree of maturity and polish that the Oloroso barrel lacks. Let’s dive in. A beautiful auburn hue (1.5). This one loves air. The nostril explodes with molasses cookies, fig jam, shoe polish, aged leather-based, grape syrup, plum sauce, candied strawberries, and a deep woodsy undertone. I’ll admit I’m consuming my phrases a bit right here—there’s a powerful resemblance to very previous sherried malts, with tropical fruit, savory leather-based, and a coconut-like maturity, particularly after the whisky has had an hour or extra to open up. Blind, you’d by no means guess the age. For Waco, that is fairly previous.
The palate expands the expertise with unique spice—garam masala, turmeric, clove—layered over dense dried fruits. The end continues this interaction of candy and savory, with oak tannins completely woven into the entire. Some could also be drawn extra to the Oloroso barrel, however truthfully, that is such a novel cask that you simply’d do nicely to attempt them aspect by aspect. I couldn’t select between them—and I doubt you’ll have the ability to both.
Okay&L Notes: This distinctive barrel from the well-known Waco distiller is actually certainly one of a form. Distilled on November twenty seventh, 2017 from 100% Golden Promise barley on Balcones’ stunning custom-built pot stills. It was crammed into 59-gallon new charred American oak the very subsequent day and matured there for over 5 years till Could twenty fifth of 2023 when the liquid was transferred over to a Madeira cask. (We aren’t allowed to reveal the place the cask was sourced from.) With a complete completed time of 14 months within the Madeira cask, it was disgorged on August third, 2024, and bottled at its cask-strength proof of 130.5 for a complete maturation of 6 years 8 months, or 80 months. This massively complicated and distinctive providing is among the strongest and sophisticated American single malts we’ve ever tasted. Nothing available on the market in the present day compares to the huge whiskies popping out of those Waco warehouses.
David Othenin-Girard | Okay&L Spirits Purchaser
This absolute monster of a barrel would be the most intense and sophisticated American Single Malt we’ve ever bottled. The fantastic Balcones Distillery is able to an awesome deal, however the place they really shine is on this fashion of powerfully extractive, deeply complicated, cask-strength whisky. For me, that is maybe the closest the States has come to producing a Kavalan-style malt—albeit formed by very totally different getting old situations.
Let’s give it a go. It pours thick—you possibly can see it stream slowly. The colour is darkish as night time, like brown sherry. The nostril is deep and commanding, with large aromas of cooked stone fruit, darkish nutty chocolate, roasted espresso, and aged wooden. It’s dense, chewy, and layered.
On the palate, it’s wealthy and mouth-coating. There’s immense energy right here—practically tannic in construction—however it by no means veers off beam. Waves of darkish fruit, nougat, rancio, teak, clove, and onerous strawberry candies all roll throughout the tongue. A fully exhilarating—and jaw-dropping—expertise.
Okay&L Notes: This distinctive barrel of Single Malt from the famed distillery in Waco, Texas was distilled from 100% Golden Promise barley on March third, 2020. Preliminary Entry Proof was 124.9 and crammed right into a not too long ago dumped Oloroso sherry cask, the supply of which is embargoed. Wholly aged for over 4 years on this extremely prime quality lively sherry hogshead within the scorching and dry Waco climate and dumped on August, third, 2024. It was bottled with out chillfiltration, coloring or additions in any respect at a full cask energy of 67.5% or 135 proof. Few whiskies available on the market in the present day will match this outrageous barrel for energy and complexity. An absolute bruiser, which can severe trump every other American whisky (or internationally distilled single malt) by miles. Anticipate dense and wealthy candy nutty fruit with a thick texture and wealthy juicy end.
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