Boutique-y Whisky and Balcones combine on four spirits

Balcones Distilling and That Boutique-y Whisky Company have launched four single cask whiskeys, available from June.

The range of single casks releases aims to showcase the experimental side of Balcones Distilling. Of the four, three single malts have been especially bottled — all made using the Golden Promise malted barley sourced from Scotland — with each one then aged for various timescales in wood from around the world.

Batch 1 — a single malt that has been finished in a Balcones Brimstone Cask.

Batch 2 — a single malt that has been matured in a Tequila cask for 24 months.

Batch 3 — the third single malt — has been finished in an Oloroso sherry cask. This is the third spirit that Balcones has bottled that has been finished in a sherry cask — the other two being a single malt released in celebration of the distillery’s 10th anniversary and a dark rum finished in a Pedro Ximénez cask. 

The fourth spirit will be launched in the autumn and is a blue corn spirit, which the distillery is well known for: the spirit is made from 100 per cent blue corn — Balcones signature corn grain — and finished in Pedro Ximénez casks. 

Dave Worthington, That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s brand ambassador says: “Balcones has a special place in my heart as the first ever whisky festival I worked was for Balcones, so I’m so happy to see some of their Texan spirits wrapped up in our Boutique-y labels. Y’all gonna love this y’all (in my best Texas accent).”

Jared Himstedt, Balcones’ head distiller says: “"We are delighted to partner with our friends at That Boutique-y Whisky Company to release these rare and special spirits, all of which are a nod to our passion for exploration and testing the waters of what's possible. We wanted to share some single casks that showcase some of our fun experiments and finishes, alongside the versatility of our blue corn spirit, which we've not release in Sherry casks before. We hope that people who enjoy our spirits have a chance to taste and enjoy these limited releases."

Batch 1, 2 and 3 are on sale now at www.masterofmalt.com, each priced at £69.95 (per 50cl bottle). The fourth release will be available in September. There will be a very limited number of bottles available of each batch.

25 June 2019 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, editor