Balcones 1, Texas Single Malt Whisky, Classic Edition, 53% abv.

Balcones is a craft distillery out of Waco, Texas, USA. Initially famous for releasing an aged "malt" based on blue corn, it's now famous for one of the more stranger conflicts in the whisky industry. For a brief summary based on fact and fiction, the drama started when Balcones founder Chip Tate wanted to expand production to meet rising demand. Him and his business partner found an investor, but to get the funding, ownership structure had to change, where Chip Tate became a minority shareholder. Apparently things started breaking down when management discovered the amount of funding needed would be significantly much more than initially estimated by Chip Tate. This issue was accompanied by reports of misbehavior (i.e. temper, threats, overspending) by Chip. Chip denied everything and so legal proceedings started. Eventually Chip was bought out and signed a non-compete agreement for 3 years. Now Chip has started making brandy... my how the mighty have fallen.

Nose: major apples, some honey, wet side (bottom side) of a corn tortilla. Unique and quite nice.

Palate: intense, scary,  raisins and prunes, very flavorful. After taking all these mid level abv pours, the flavor intensity is both impressie and scary.

Finish: short, but nothing much.

This was killer whisky, good body, good aromas, finish is mediocre at best though. I'm going to be honest, as my first Balcones I had no idea what to expect and was genuinely surprised. Surprised because it was good, but I'm not sure if I was inebriated at this point, or if it really is this intense. Wish the finish was there.

Grade: B

Whiskyanalysis.com, 8.68 ± 0.31 on 13 reviews
Malt maniacs, Oliver Klimek, 84 points
Thewhiskeyjug, Josh Peters, B
Thewhiskeywash, Tish Lester, 89 points
Lawhiskeysociety, Ries ?, B