While visiting Balcones, I saw the largest Forsyth Scottish pot stills I’ve ever seen. Two are used for wash distillation with a capacity of 3,200 gallons, and two for spirit distillation with a capacity of 2,200 gallons. The season of this rye production had distillate coming off the stills around 137 proof, with a barrel entry proof of 124.5. The cask-strength proof was 127 before being proofed down to 100 for bottled-in-bond. For this batch, 98 225-liter casks were aged for 4 years, and is non-chill filtered. The Balcones Texas Bottled in Bond Rye mash bill is also something I’ve never seen before, which consists of 91% Texas-grown Elbon rye, with the other rye grains from a specialty grain company in Germany called Weyermann, providing 5% Cara Rye, 2% Chocolate Rye, and 2% Roasted Rye. Let’s get started!
Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested for about 15 minutes.
Distillery: Balcones Distilling.
Proof: 100. Non-chill filtered.
Age: 4 years.
Batch: Rye BiB 22-1. Date 6.3.2022. 98 x 225L casks.
Mash bill: 91% Raw Elbon Rye/5% Cara Rye/2% Chocolate Rye/2% Roasted Rye.
Price: $50.
Appearance: Dark brown caramel.
Nose
The nose starts with fresh-baked rye bread, dark-roasted coffee, dark chocolate, root beer, butterscotch, with a mix of herbal eucalyptus, matcha tea, sage, and cloves. The spice resembles cinnamon with molasses, vanilla beans, and an undercurrent of ripe apricots and pears.
Palate
With a medium viscous mouthfeel, rye bread is up front and center, along with toffee, chocolate, espresso, root beer, molasses, and herbal flavors of black tea, sage, and cloves. Like the nose, I’m getting a stone fruit flavor of apricots underneath but with a pop of banana rind. A nice moderately balanced amount of cinnamon spice enters mid-sip, bringing along oak and a hint of wood smoke. This is a very easy-drinking rye that packs a lot of good flavors for a 100-proof whiskey.
Finish
Cinnamon spice continues with dark chocolate, espresso, toffee, green tea, sage, and molasses, with peppermint joining the party. This medium-long finish ends with rye grain, chocolate, espresso, root beer, banana bread, and pipe tobacco. The finish is complex and interesting, with different flavors moving in and out as time passes.
Conclusion
I liked this release on the Balcones Distillery tour six months ago, but I forgot the specifics of this profile before my first pour from this bottle. At first, this profile’s prominent Elbon rye grain flavor caught me off guard, but the more time I spent with it, the more I liked it. Especially the dark chocolate, espresso, and a host of herbal flavors, with a dark barrel character that reminds me of a double-oaked whiskey. Chalk that up to aging in the hot Texas climate.
Balcones Texas Rye Bottled in Bond has a bold, grain-forward, unique profile that I’ve been thoroughly enjoying, but I can see it as a divisive selection for some whiskey drinkers. If rye whiskey isn’t your frequent go-to or you lean heavily towards a typical Kentucky or Indiana rye profile, I suggest you try this one before you buy it. But if you’re a fan of other Balcones releases or if this sounds like it’s in your whiskey wheelhouse, I recommend giving it a shot.
Rating: 6.7/10.
Balcones Lobby
Grain Silos
Fermentation Tanks
Proofing Tanks
Pot Still 1
Pot Still 2
Bottling Line
Balcones Flight
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
