Allotment Dram - Balcones Baby Blue

Matt samples Balcones Baby Blue as his allotment dram on another warm May afternoon. Hear his thoughts, tasting notes and a bit of background about the 100% Texan blue corn whisky and the distillery in Waco, Texas. For further information on Balcones and their whiskies, please go to www.balconesdistilling.com.

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Review - Balcones Texas Pot Still Bourbon

This whisky is the latest permanent addition to the core whisky range of the Texan distillery of Balcones. The launch of Texas Pot Still Bourbon is the first permanent bourbon from the distillery, which has seen numerous small batch bourbons released in the past. The Texas Pot Still Bourbon is made using a mash bill of roasted blue corn, malted barley, Texas rye and Texas wheat, although the percentages of each are not revealed. This spirit, made through Balcones' bespoke copper pot stills made by Forsyth's in Scotland, has then been matured in charred new American oak barrels for 24 months.

Distillery Visit - Balcones

The Balcones distillery was ahead of its time and helped to kick off the craft distilling boom in the United States. They have also helped to put American single malt and Texan whisky on the map. Now the distillery is celebrating its 10th anniversary and Matt was invited over for a special tour.

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It seems difficult to imagine the spirits scene without any small artisanal distillers. However, this current landscape is very different to that of a decade ago when we first began writing Whisky For Everyone. The American whiskey sector was dominated by a limited number of major players and in our UK market there seemed little choice.

The Second Coming of Rye Whiskey

Rye whiskies are back in fashion.

There is a resurgence happening. A long forgotten and much maligned spirit is making a comeback, and in a big way. That spirit is American rye whiskey.

Long seen as the spicy and brash brother of bourbon, rye whiskey had fallen out of favour with consumers and bartenders in a big way. The spirit never properly recovered from the Prohibition period, which was from 1920 to 1933 in America, and the effect was almost terminal. It was relegated to being produced by just a few distillers for a decreasing number of drinkers.

Review - Balcones Texas Rye 100 Proof

The Texas Rye 100 Proof is the first ever rye whisky to be released by the Texan distillery of Balcones. It was launched to celebrate their 10th anniversary year. The 100 Proof is bottled at 15 months of age and will be a permanent product in the core range. The spirit used has been made using 100% rye grains, all of which are grown in Texas - this is unusual as the legal minimum is 51% rye - and has been double distilled through copper pot stills.  As the name suggests, it is bottled at 100 Proof (50% ABV). This core bottling was joined by the limited Cask Strength Straight Rye, which contained some of the first rye spirit distilled in 2015 and was bottled at 62.5% ABV. This has now sold out.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (January 26, 2018)

Welcome to Inbox.  For those new to WFE, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Texas - A New Whisky Star Is Rising

* This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post UK on 30/6/17.

When most people think of American whiskey, they think of two states – Kentucky and Tennessee. This is not surprising as the biggest brands are produced there and the industry has history and heritage on its side. But now a new state is staking a claim for a share of the American whiskey pie. That state is Texas.

In less than a decade Texas has risen from the whiskey wilderness to become arguably the third most important and influential whiskey state in the USA. America’s second largest state by both area and population is now home to a growing number of distilleries that are aiding and developing the craft distilling revolution in the country.