Up for review today is the Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel. Recently we reviewed the Balcones Single Malt general market release and today we’re diving into a single cask. A cask, I might add, that I got to try on my Balcones Distillery Tour and was being picked by the folks at PlumpJack Wine and Spirits. I was seriously impressed with this cask when tasting the lineup and asked the guys to set aside a bottle for me when they got it in… and they did.
The regular mass-market release of the single malt utilizes used Hungarian and French oak barrels as well as new charred American oak barrels. Being a single barrel, it’s pulled from a single American oak barrel. Though thanks to Barrel and Bottle I have a full single cask breakdown/deconstruction tasting below this review. This is a long one, so you might want to grab a dram and settle in for a bit of a read.
Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel Review: Details and Tasting Notes
“Utilizing classic techniques and ingredients borrowed from history, combined with our unique central texas climate, our single malt pays homage to centuries of distilling tradition.”
Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)
Region: Texas, USA
Distiller: Balcones
Picked By: PlumpJack Wine and Spirits
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: European Oak
Age: 2 Years 4 months
ABV: 64.1%
Price: $100
Tasting Notes
EYE
Dirty ruby
NOSE
Strawberry heavy dark fruit, brown sugar, dried apricot, tropical fruit, wood, orange frosting, molasses, cocoa and a touch of spice.
PALATE
Mixed berry frosting, brown sugar, oak, dried apricot, tropical fruit, sultanas, banana, cocoa and spice.
FINISH
Long -> Dried dark fruit, orchard fruit, tropical spice, wood and cereal grain.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Great balance, round full body and a soft oily feel that’s almost creamy.
Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel Review: Overall and Score
The lower this bottle gets the more complex the whiskey becomes – oxygen is its friend. Aroma is a complex ball of fruit with layers of oak and dark sweets; Palate mimics but with even deeper fruitiness and heavy slabs of dark sweets lead by brown sugar; Finish hits with a fruit bomb that echoes on and on.
The Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel is constantly moving and I’m finding new things to enjoy each time I go back to this one. It’s unique and bold and hints at the untapped promise/possibilities of the American Single Malt category. Water brings out more cereal notes and raisiny notes overall. The aroma picks up more cocoa and gets a bit darker and deeper. The palate follows the darker path and brings in more oakiness and the finish just stays elegantly fruity.
SCORE: 4/5
Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel Review $100
Overall
4.1- Nose (4.5)
- Palate (4)
- Finish (4)
- BBF (4)
User Review
0 (0 votes) Comments Rating 0 (0 reviews)Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel Review Summary
This is a big bold single malt that comes through heavy and brooding but with an overall essence that reminds me a bit of a nice Speyside whisky, especially in the finish. This is an excellent example of how a single cask can sometimes be better than the blended whole.
The typical Balcones Single Malt release comes from a blend of casks, but as mentioned above I was sent some samples from Barrel and Bottle who bottled each cask source itself. I considered doing these as separate reviews, but in the end decided it would be more fun to turn this into a mega-post and deconstruct the regular Balcones Texas Single Malt Whiskey. At the very least this should be a fun case study in the variability of single casks with 4 being tasted and reviewed side-by-side.
Hungarian Oak
ABV: 64.8%
Age: 2 years 9 months
EYE
Amber
NOSE
Spirity with touches of apples, oak, spice, char and clay.
PALATE
Spirity, woody, cocoa powder, cinnamon, char, allspice, paprika.
FINISH
Medium -> Cocoa, wood, spirit, spice, leather.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Not balanced, full-body and oily feel that turns drying.
Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel – Hungarian Oak Review: Overall and Score
Not liking this SiB too much. Aroma doesn’t have much going on, mostly just sweet, with a raw minerally spirit profile; Palate is wacky, so wacky, with the spirit dominating but accompanied by some odd notes including some I can’t quite put my finger on…; Finish is my favorite part and contains the most integrated notes.
I have found my least favorite Balcones ever. Definitely not a fan of how spirity this is. Water adds a bit of butteriness to the aroma and a touch of fruit to the palate but still not enough to combat the raw spirity nature of this Balcones Single Malt Single Barrel.
SCORE: 0.5/5
French Oak
ABV: 65.9%
Age: 2 years 8 months
EYE
Burnt umber
NOSE
Roasted banana, caramel, oak, tropical fruit, apricots, cocoa, spice and light medicinal notes.
PALATE
Spice, oak, brown sugar, dried cherries and vanilla with some floral and metallic notes.
FINISH
Medium -> Metal, spice, grain and wood.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Unbalanced, full round body with a hot tannic-dry feel.
Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel – French Oak Review: Overall and Score
Not a big fan of this SiB either. Aroma is light and topical with notes coming and going but still not very expressive on the whole; Palate carries an odd combo of flavors that clash hotly; Finish is unpleasant but fades quick enough.
Some spice and dried fruit notes slowly arrive but overall it’s light, not very expressive and is peppered with metallic, woody and spirity notes. To be clear it’s unpleasant but not gross. Water brings a bit of chalk and cocoa to the aroma, the palate is a similar story but with a hint of freeze-dried strawberry. But largely, this Balcones Single Malt Single Barrel remains the same before or after water.
SCORE: 2/5
American Oak
ABV: 65.7%
Age: 2 years 8 months
EYE
Honey
NOSE
Tropical fruit, orchard fruit, honey, baking spice, vanilla, buttery toffee, citrus peels and light candy sweetness.
PALATE
Oak, char, honey, tropical and orchard fruit, spice and vanilla.
FINISH
Medium-short -> Fruit, oak and brown sugar.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good balance, full body and an oily feel.
Balcones Texas Single Malt Single Barrel – American Oak Review: Overall and Score
This is a tasty SiB for sure. Aroma doesn’t have much oak, mostly fruity and sweet, which reminds me more of a Scottish-style single malt than the oak drenched American Single Malts we’re used to; Palate is a tad muted compared to the aroma, but what’s in there is nice and I’d love to get another glass of it; Finish is the most disappointing part of this SiB, it’s pleasant but doesn’t last long enough to fully savor.
Nicely sweet and balanced with oak and darker fruitier notes coming through and a spice that builds as it opens followed by more dessert notes. I’d definitely like more of this one, hands down my favorite of the Balcones Single Malt Single Barrel picks from Bottle and Barrel.
SCORE: 3.5/5
Hope you enjoyed this mega-review / single barrel deconstruction of the Balcones Single Malt. Cheers!
