189: Balcones Distilling Setting The Standard For Texas Whisky
Release Date: 08/28/2022
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info_outlineWe’re talking Texas Whiskey with Balcones Distilling. Balcones is located in Waco Texas and is known as the producer of “The Original Texas Whisky”. We’re excited to discuss what makes Texas unique; it’s definitely more than its hot weather too. We’re joined by Gabe RiCharde, the Director of Spirits at Balcones Distilling, where he has worked for nearly six years. Gabe has had a hand in many of the unique whiskies coming out of Waco, including one of the wildest whiskies we’ve tried in a long time; Big Baby, a Bottled in Bond, 5 year Corn Whisky, aged entirely in tequila casks. We also discuss Balcones' Pot Still Bourbon, a great kickoff to Bourbon Heritage Month.
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Cheers,
Scott and Jake
Bourbon Lens
About Balcones:
Born and bred in Waco, Texas, Balcones Distilling is an award-winning distillery that marries centuries of distilling tradition with the bold, original flavors of Texas. Synonymous with quality and innovation in the whisky industry, Balcones is known for emphasizing high-quality ingredients and drawing authentic influences from all over Texas. To date, the distillery has earned over 550 national and international tasting awards and accolades for their whiskies and spirits.
In 2008, Balcones was nothing more than an idea driven by a passion to create something original and authentic, right here in the Heart of Texas. It all started in an old welding shop under a bridge in Waco. For the next year, we replaced the roofing, knocked out walls, laid brick, cut pipes, installed copper pot stills from Portugal, and shoehorned a whisky distillery inside that quaint building. Proud of what we had accomplished on our own, we began distilling in 2009.
Links:
- Balcones Distilling
- Bourbon Lens Review of Balcones "Big Baby" Tequila Cask Corn Whisky
- Balcones Distilling: The Barrel Nerds - American Whiskey Magazine
- 142: What is Driving the Texas Whiskey Boom? - Bourbon Lens
- Industry reacts to American single malt whiskey designation proposal
- Bourbon Lens Instagram - Balcones Big Baby Review
- Balcones Distilling and ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres Whisky Returns to Shelves - BevNET.com
- Waco's Balcones Distilling Is Rightly Proud Of Its Lineage. | Central Track
- All 8 Balcones Whiskies, Blind Tasted And Ranked
- Why American Single Malt Is The Whiskey Industry’s New Frontier