Balcones Distilling

This distillery is as good as it gets! Small company with a gorgeous product. I love the Rumble!

Have had the pleasure of tasting and buying Balcones from our local retailer. We wanted to do a tour and as per the website and Unilocal,we called in advance. Nothing available until February. They may have started moving to their new location.

My review for Balcones is almost 4 years overdue. On St. Patty’s day 2010 my then-​boyfriend and I stopped by Balcones after we’d learned there was a distillery in Waco. We thought we’d try something new for the holiday, rather than bar hop to to various drinkeries like Cricket’s, Scruff’s, and Trojan’s, like most of our Baylor contemporaries. It was a little off the beaten path, just under a bridge near the Mrs. Baird’s bake shop in downtown Waco. I would have never known it was there if we hadn’t gone looking for it.
It turns out Balcones was not open to the public for tastings but we must have wandered around outside the warehouse for a little too long because this dude with a GREAT beard poked his head out from inside the shop and asked if he could help us. He seemed a bit surprised that the public would be interested in tours & sampling. Nevertheless, we were invited inside and he gave us a quick tour around the place. There were several other employees working, and they had equally awesome beards and seemed to be enjoying their jobs.
We were offered free samples of 2 types of whisky, one of which was from the last bottle of an award-​winning batch. We were told that, to Balcones’ dismay, the employees had failed to save the recipe for that particular batch, but it was very smooth with great flavor. My knowledge of whisky jargon is seriously lacking, but believe me when I this was very, very good, even for someone who isn’t a typical whiskey drinker. I can’t remember the name of the award or whether it was at the national or international level, but we were impressed and honored they would share what little was left with us.
Since I no longer live in Waco, I have requested Balcones at Spec’s Smith St. Superstore in Houston over the last couple of years, hoping to buy some for my husband who is the true whisky buff in our relationship. Spec’s claims they are trying to get it, but I’m not sure of the time frame for that. If I see Balcones for sale anywhere, I will definitely grab a few bottles!

I always feel some hesitance when writing an initial review for an establishment that, surely for some legal reason, must place those three corporate letters – L, L, and C – into the title. Will I be charged for false testament? Can I post an accurate account of my experience with the product?
All this taken into account, I recently picked up a bottle of their Brimstone Whiskey – the one that they pride themselves on, due to the Texas Oak purification process. The smoke indeed comes out, and it packs quite the punch. A higher price point stands on this guy, but it would serve you well, being $ 20 less than their True Blue. Still young, it holds on to all of the bold characteristics of the corn and fire – time can mellow this guy out.
The gentlemen behind this homegrown operation reap the fruits of their labor, as proven by the abundance of awards provided them. Furthermore, you know that they take care in what they are doing – no one else would decide, on their own free will, to live in the Bible Belt Buckle, Baylor Boasting, Booze-​Broken, Waco, for their day job. Welcome, Balcones. Thanks for bringing some more craft whiskey to the Lone Star State.