Origin: Texas (USA)
Type: Texas Rye Whisky
Gradation: 50%ABV
Ageing casks: Virgin American Oak
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Balcones Distilling
Average price: € 40.00
Official website: balconesdistilling.com
Vote: 87/100
The beauty of an artisanal distillery like Balcones is the willingness (and desire) to continue experimenting, playing with grains and ageing, exploring new recipes in search of unprecedented flavours and impressions, in a field like American whiskey where tradition, perhaps even more than Scottish whisky, plays a fundamental role (and weight).
So here is a 100% rye whisky, composed mainly of indigenous Elbon Rye which joins Crystal, Chocolate and Roasted, with double distillation in copper stills and ageing for a minimum of 18 months, all natural, creating a (they say) unique and recognisable profile.
Tasting notes
Copper in the glass.
On the nose, what I would call “herbaceous chocolate” stands out, as if they had dipped bunches of rye in cocoa. Bread dough, coffee beans, toasted wood, tea leaves, maple syrup, caramel… the aromas chase each other in a soul of sweet freshness, with enveloping tones. Light spice of pepper and cloves.
Light-bodied, in the mouth it brings chocolate back to the forefront, with the addition of chilli pepper, with a greater spiciness of cloves and nutmeg which spread over the colours already perceived on the nose, where coffee, cooked fruit, caramel and, especially on the length, toasted wood are exalted. The herbaceous component fades into the background, becoming more of a subtle vein.
Medium-long finish, where the two components of chocolate and coffee reappear, with a tendency towards dryness and bitterness, toasted wood and a slight spiciness.
We have to give credit to the people at Balcones that yes, this is a rye that’s different from the others, rich, going well beyond the spicy bombshell that we usually expect with those really surprising but welcome chocolate notes. Absolutely worth trying, especially at such a low price.
Other perspectives:
Breaking Bourbon