Balcones Baby Blue 46% ABV.

The first Texas whisky on the market since Prohibition, Baby Blue is crafted from roasted blue corn. This rich and oily maize adds new sophistication to the corn whisky tradition while keeping the freshness and verve of classic American distilling. Intentionally youthful, Baby Blue captures the essence of this prized corn with a round nuttiness, roasted overtones and refined complexity. The mouthfeel is viscous with a soft finish. A true Texas original that we are delighted to share with the world.  

Balcones Distilling

Appearance

I’d say this whisky is mid gold in colour, with a medium thick swirl line and a mixture of medium thick legs and teardrops. #BalconesTasting

Nose

This is lovely and sweet, with cream soda and cherryade initially. Lots of vanilla, cereals and grains, and a little oil aroma too. #BalconesTasting

More time and Royal icing sweetness arrives, perhaps a little marzipan too, and alphabet letter kids candy sweets, the crunchy ones. #BalconesTasting

Palate

It’s very easy going initially, but the spices soon arrive. Vanilla pods, cinnamon, cardamom, milky coffee, and black liquorice. #BalconesTasting

Waiting brings golden syrup, molasses, it’s almost rum and raisin. Eventually wood varnish comes through, linseed oil, and some of that old style glazing putty. #BalconesTasting

Finish

Long side of medium for me, I didn’t expect that tbh. We have cola cubes, chocolate coated raisins, cherryade like the nose, cigar leaves and some dunnage too. #BalconesTasting

My thoughts

I have tried Baby Blue before, and it was long enough ago for me to forget what i made of it. It also came at a time when i wasn’t whisky tasting as such, and certainly wasn’t doing whisky reviews. So i came to this as if for the first time.

So it seems i love what Balcones have done with Blue Corn, it has the sweetness i love and develops nicely into stronger deeper aromas and flavours. At £42 a bottle, i personally think it’s a winner every time, and i can see myself buying one in the near future.

A big thank you goes out to my whisky friend Paul – @pswhisky on Twitter, for sending out these samples and arranging the tasting that this bottle was a part of. Follow Paul and indeed us on Twitter using the buttons below.