Garrison Brothers 2015

Garrison Brothers 2015

Official bottling 
Single bourbon - Texas
Amber, hints of red
47% ABV
Dram

Nose: Fresh baked bread, sea salt, cookie dough, honey, milk chocolate, hints of molasses. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, loosens, mouth coating, cool. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Milk chocolate, sea salt, vanilla, toffee, Demerara sugar, black tea, tablet. 
Finish: Long. Tablet, vanilla, sea salt, toffee, milk chocolate. 

Comments: 

Chocolatey and sweet, lots of vanilla notes. But there’s something slightly savoury underneath that goes very well with all that sweetness. Luscious whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Balcones Pot Still Bourbon Whiskey

Balcones Pot Still Bourbon Whiskey

Official bottling 
Single bourbon - Texas
Amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Bananas, leather, honey, hay, sage, cloves, hints of camphor, hints of roast chicken. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, slightly astringent, expands. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Sage, hay, cloves, brown paper, nutmeg, mint, orange peel, hints of leather. 
Finish: Short. Mint, sage, cloves, nutmeg, orange peel. 

Comments: 

Not tried a Balcones for a while. This one is herbal, rather than sweet and fruity. There’s something savoury here too, like roast chicken, but it’s a little elusive on the tongue. Nice dram. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Ironroot Harbinger (TriBarrel Blend, Solstice Edition)

Ironroot Harbinger (TriBarrel Blend, Solstice Edition)

Official bottling 
Single bourbon - Texas
Amber red 

64.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Sea salt, honey, raisins, orange peel, brown paper, hints of bananas. With water, honey, red grapes, orange peel, fresh baked bread, hints of sandalwood. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, hot, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Black tea, honey, cornflakes, orange peel, bananas, hints of coconut curd. With water, oats, honey, orange peel, hints of bananas. 
Finish: Medium. Sea salt, brown paper, coconut curd, bananas, hints of black tea. 

Comments: 

Quite grapey, not a note one associates with bourbon. Lots of fruit and spice, but the cereal flavours come through eventually, especially after a bit of water is added. Interesting, but probably over strength. A bit more aging would have been nice, I think.

Verdict:

I like this.

Ironroot Apotheosis

Ironroot Apotheosis 

Official bottling 
Single bourbon - Texas
Amber red 
63.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Sugarcane, coconut curd, bananas, cornflakes, orange peel, hints of raisins. With water, red grapes, orange peel, bananas, coconut curd. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, airy, loosens, hot. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Cornflakes, vanilla ice cream, coconut curd, orange peel, fresh baked bread, hints of raisins. With water, saltier, cornflakes, oats, orange peel, hints of raisins. 
Finish: Medium. Cornflakes, fresh baked bread, vanilla ice cream, sugarcane. 

Comments: 

Cognac cask finished bourbon. Quite high strength, but it’s very sweet. Needs a touch (more than a touch, really) of water to bring out some rather nice cereal flavours. Not really to my taste, it’s a bit too sickly.

Verdict:

I like this.

Balcones Single Barrel #10011 (for the British Bourbon Society)

Balcones Single Barrel #10011 (for the British Bourbon Society)

Official bottling 
Single bourbon - Texas
Bright amber
62.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Bananas, cherries, cornflakes, toffee, raisins, amaretto, hints of jasmine. With water, sea salt, raisins, orange peel, toffee. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, slippery, hot, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Cornflakes, toffee, cherries, chocolate, amaretto, sea salt, hints of coffee. With water, raisins, cherries, orange peel, oats. 
Finish: Long. Cornflakes, sea salt, coffee, oats, hints of chocolate. 

Comments: 

This bourbon is so well seasoned it reeks of raisins and stone fruit. Lots of underlying cereal notes betray its grain identity, and it’s luscious and rich. Lovely. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Garrison Brothers Single Barrel

Garrison Brothers Single Barrel

Official bottling 
Single bourbon - Texas
Amber
47% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, butterscotch, cardamom, vanilla, cooked rice, hints of cloves. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, loosens, warm. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Fresh baked bread, butterscotch, vanilla, brown paper, hints of iron filings. 
Finish: Medium. Rolled oats, fresh baked bread, honey, brown paper. 

Comments: 

An interesting bourbon, from Texas. Quite spicy, with a cereally bite on the nose, that morphs quite quickly to rolled oats on the tongue and into the finish. There's quite a lot of classic bourbon brown paper notes too.

Verdict:

I like this.

Balcones True Blue 100 Proof

Balcones True Blue 100 Proof 

Official bottling
Single bourbon - Texas
Dark amber
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, cookie dough, chocolate chips, sandalwood, hints of cloves. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, loose, airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Chocolate chips, raisins, cloves, vanilla, cream, hints of coffee. 
Finish: Medium. Coffee, raisins, cloves, hints of cinnamon. 

Comments: 

Robust, aggressive and forward, this whiskey is sweet yet laden with spicy notes. It starts to turn bitter on the tongue, then fades to spicy yet again. It's brilliant, and hits flavour profiles from Japan, Scotland and even India. But no - it's American!

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Balcones '1' Texas Single Malt

Balcones '1' Texas Single Malt

Official bottling
Single malt - Texas
Amber
53% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pears, magic marker, honey, apples, peat, cinnamon, hints of ink, hints of rust.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens slightly, turns syrupy, sticky
Tasting: Sweet. Cream, vanilla, cookie dough, honey, cinnamon, hints of apples.
Finish: Medium. Peat, honey, vanilla, apples, pears.

Comments:

This whisky has been 'yard-aged'. I don't know what that means, but I bet it was a bourbon cask. In any case, it's really quite decent, albeit fairly young by the tastes of it. Quite estery, with loads of magic marker and apples and pears on the nose, turning really gentle to vanilla and cookies on the nose. Good fruit, good spice. Not one of Balcones' barnstormers, but a nice whisky to relax to.

Verdict:

I like this.

Balcones Brimstone

Balcones Brimstone

Official bottling
Single corn - Texas
Dark amber
53% ABV
Dram

Nose: Brown paper, smoke, maple syrup, black tea, blueberries, vanilla, hints of turmeric.
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, airy, watery around the edges.
Tasting: Bitter sweet. Brown paper, maple syrup, sweet potatoes, vanilla, magic marker, hints of turmeric.
Finish: Long. Sweet potatoes, vanilla, magic marker, pears.

Comments:

Interestingly made - the whiskey has been smoked (not the grain, the whiskey itself) with scrub oak. It's sweet and smoky, with a vegetable hint of something very like sweet potatoes. Good complexity, even spiciness. Very nice, and I hope Balcones keep producing this sort of stuff.

Verdict:

I like this.

Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whisky

Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whisky

Official bottling 
Single corn - Texas
Green gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cardboard, cream, bananas, tobacco leaf, leather, hints of old books.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, turns watery.
Tasting: Bitter sweet. Tobacco leaf, cream, bananas, leather, pears, hints of chocolate .
Finish: Short. Pears, lemon sweets, leather.

Comments:

My first corn whisky, and I don't really know what to make of it. It starts out leathery and musty, like being in an old library. Underneath that layer, there's a great deal of fruit and sweetness, a bit like a bourbon. Quite good.

Verdict:

I like this.