The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Andrew Graham
Grade: B+
True Blue 100
(Credit: Balcones)
Balcones is a Texas distillery whose expressions The Whiskey Reviewer has covered extensively, because they are consistently solid and the distillery’s methods are unique. Balcones uses 100% Hopi blue corn for some of its signature expressions, and they age their corn whiskeys in used 5-gallon barrels.
Editor Richard Thomas reviewed its inaugural expression, Baby Blue, back in 2018, writing:
“That small barrel aging would become a signature of early craft whiskey, and the use of used barrels is mandated by Federal corn whiskey regulations. The blue corn mash, however, remains a novel feature, even several years later.”
Since then, more distillers have begun to use blue corn in their whiskeys, and using smaller barrels to accelerate the aging process, or to exert a new influence on the whiskey, is still pretty common among newer distillers. However, 30 gallon barrels are more common than 5 gallons these days.
Balcones sources its blue corn from New Mexico. The grain has a higher protein content than the yellow corn varieties that more commonly get turned into corn sweetener and animal feed, but despite this is said to have a sweeter flavor. It’s essentially a 100 proof version of Baby Blue.
The extent to which the flavor nuances of any grain translate directly to the flavor of spirits distilled with that grain is a great subject for distillers (or farmers) to weigh in on, but regardless, I found this expression to be accessible and complex. It does not drink like a young whiskey, and it is commendable that Balcones can bring something like this to market after having it spend only two years in oak.
The bottle I used for this review was from batch TB10019-1, bottled in April of 2019.
The Whiskey
The color of this whiskey is russet muscat, and I found the nose to be pleasantly sweet and slightly woody, with notes of candy corn, almond extract, and toasted coconut. On the palate, I tasted prominent flavor notes of charred corn and vanilla custard, with notes of coffee beans and dried cherries behind them. Adding a drop or two of water, for me, brightened up those secondary notes.
There is a subtle inclusion of wet tobacco to the flavor of this whiskey, which gives it some additional character.
I found the finish to be well-rounded and polite, with some of those dried fruit flavor notes turning into a sherried, tannic essence on the finish. Even at 100 proof, there is no distinguishable burn, neither on the palate nor on the finish. This whiskey is quite balanced and becomes more complex as one spends more time with it.
The Price
Balcones True Blue 100 retails for around $55.
