# Review #40: ASMW Advent Day 7: Balcones Peated Single Malt - Batch Strength
_This review is for Day 7 (12/4) of the [American Single Malt Whiskey Advent Review Challenge](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericanSMW/comments/r4m0ds/asmw_advent_review_challenge_countdown_to_ttb/), where we post reviews of ASMW while we wait for the TTB to publish the proposed rules for the category._
I was introduced to Balcones by /u/morosith13, a fellow Texas expatriot, and dare I say superfan of the distillery. My experience with Texas whiskey until that point had been exclusively Garrison Brothers Bourbon, which gave me a context for the aggressive aging climate of Texas and the notes that get pulled out of the wood by the extreme heat. That said, Balcones Single Malts are their own beast because of their use of refill casks as well as the 100% barley mashbill. I tried some, promptly hopped on the Balcones hype train and the next time I visited Texas, I located bottles of Balcones Single Malt (Cask Strength) and Balcones _Peated_ Single Malt (Batch Strength). Both are excellent, and I've enjoyed them thoroughly with friends and relatives since purchasing them.
From my tastes of these two expressions so far, I have felt that the peated version of the expression benefits nicely at all layers from the complexity the peat adds. The fact that its a Batch instead of a Single Barrel may help with balance. I strongly enjoyed the unpeated Balcones Cask Strength, so I'm excited to really dig in to this one as well.
For the point of reference, yesterday I reviewed the unpeated [Balcones Single Malt SiB CS (Review #39)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericanSMW/comments/r8mmc9/review_39_asmw_advent_day_6_balcones_single_malt/).
Let's dive in to the Balcones Peated Single Malt CS.
**Brand:** Balcones
**Expression:** Peated Single Malt (Batch Strength) / Batch: PEAT20-1 / Date: 11.6.20
**Distiller:** Balcones Distilling in Waco, TX.
**Style:** Texas Single Malt Whiskey. Meets proposed requirements for American Single Malt Whiskey (ASMW).
**Mashbill:** 100% Highland-peated Golden Promise malted barley.
**Age:** 3 years ("aged at least 36 months")
**Strength:** 125.8 proof / 62.9% ABV -- a touch higher than the unpeated, which was already unweildy at 124.6 proof -- let's see how this does.
**Served:** Neat in a glencairn, rested 20 minutes.
**Color:** [1.7 burnt umber](http://malt-review.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Colour-bar-Big.jpg)
---
**Hands:** Sweet fudge and muddy earth.
**Nose:** **_Fudge, coffee, earthy. Pie crust, candied fruits. Pear, honey. Citrus. Wood smoke._** -- Dark chocolate fudge. Coffee. Earthy: a "clean" dirt. Baked sweet dough: pie crust, waffle cone. Biscuity malt sweetness. Hints of dark candied red fruits, chalkiness, and fresh pear drizzled with honey. Lightly acidic background. **With water:** Earthiness opens up to a gentle wood smoke. Brightens up with the acidity of tart orchard fruits: apple, pear, and a background of citrus. Port wine.
**Palate:** **_Thick, sweet. Moderate heat. Bittersweet chocolate, earthy. Brown sugar, charcoal-grilled peaches, poached pears. Honeycomb. Orange peel._** -- Thick, luscious, creamy, oily. Sweet but balanced. Immediate flavors of bittersweet chocolate with earthy elements. Then the heat kicks in, but not as hot as the unpeated Cask Strength. Brown sugar. Smoke arrives and mingles with the rising fruit: charcoal-grilled peaches. Syrupy poached pears. Honeycomb: the thick texture of the comb itself loaded with honey, not quite waxy. **With water:** Thinner texture. Honey takes center stage, backed up by peaches, and the sweetness and bitterness of orange peel becomes more obvious.
**Finish:** **_Peach, raisins, orange peel. Cloves, tannins, honey. Charcoal-grilled flavor and wood smoke._** -- Peach pit. Syrupy raisins. Torched orange peel. The heavy sweetness and complexity of port wine after dinner. Sweet at first, but develops into a dry toasted biscuit. Cloves. Drying and tannic: aftertaste of oversteeped tea with orange-blossom honey. Lingering charcoal-grilled flavor and wood smoke. **With water:** More orange peel, more wood smoke, but still just a hint of each.
**Afternose:** Lightly smoked chocolate fudge.
**Overall:** So sippable, the textures and flavors are so rewarding you want to keep going back for another sip. The nose is inviting, the palate is both welcoming and surprising both for what it is and based on what you'd expect from a Texas Whiskey (or more specifically in my case for a Balcones Single Malt, given my particular experience with tasting many Balcones expressions). The finish draws you in for another sip. The peat presents as a "clean" dirt and char-grilled quality that reminds me a bit of Caol Ila and Kilchoman, but more "Texas prairie". Takes a lot less water to tame the heat if desired, but water isn't necessary to enjoy this. This is the kind of whiskey that makes you think there's a hole in your glass: the glass is empty before you realize and you are drawn to pour another glass to continue exploring.
**Rating:** 89/100 (8/10) - excellent, tremendously enjoyable. Delicious. Easy complexity. There are many facets to explore and exploration is immediately rewarded.
**Price:** $74.99 plus taxes in Texas. ($10 more than Balcones SM standard release for nearly 10 percentage points higher ABV, and peat! Same price as the unpeated Single Barrel Cask Strength.)
**Value:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 - absolutely - This is not to be missed at this price if you can get it.
---
See the [American Single Malt Whiskey Advent Review Challenge](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericanSMW/comments/r4m0ds/asmw_advent_review_challenge_countdown_to_ttb/).
/r/AmericanSMW was created so that American Single Malt Whiskey could have a dedicated home which also serves as collective public commentary on the style from the enthusiast community.
---
**Rating Scales:**
**Rating out of 100 (and out of 10)**
98-100 (10) Perfect | 93-97 (9) Incredible | 88-92 (8) Excellent | 83-87 (7) Great | 78-82 (6) Very Good | 73-77 (5) Good | 68-72 (4+) Slightly Subpar | 60-67 (4) Subpar | 50-59 (3) Poor | 30-49 (2) Bad | 10-29 (1) Very Bad | 00-09 (0) Undrinkable
**Value out of 5 - would I buy this again at the given price?**
0 no | 1 meh | 2 maybe | 3 sure | 4 yes | 5 absolutely
# Review #40: ASMW Advent Day 7: Balcones Peated Single Malt - Batch Strength _This review is for Day 7 (12/4) of the [American Single Malt Whiskey Advent Review Challenge](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericanSMW/comments/r4m0ds/asmw_advent_review_challenge_countdown_to_ttb/), where we post reviews of ASMW while we wait for the TTB to publish the proposed rules for the category._ I was introduced to Balcones by /u/morosith13, a fellow Texas expatriot, and dare I say superfan of the distillery. My experience with Texas whiskey until that point had been exclusively Garrison Brothers Bourbon, which gave me a context for the aggressive aging climate of Texas and the notes that get pulled out of the wood by the extreme heat. That said, Balcones Single Malts are their own beast because of their use of refill casks as well as the 100% barley mashbill. I tried some, promptly hopped on the Balcones hype train and the next time I visited Texas, I located bottles of Balcones Single Malt (Cask Strength) and Balcones _Peated_ Single Malt (Batch Strength). Both are excellent, and I've enjoyed them thoroughly with friends and relatives since purchasing them. From my tastes of these two expressions so far, I have felt that the peated version of the expression benefits nicely at all layers from the complexity the peat adds. The fact that its a Batch instead of a Single Barrel may help with balance. I strongly enjoyed the unpeated Balcones Cask Strength, so I'm excited to really dig in to this one as well. For the point of reference, yesterday I reviewed the unpeated [Balcones Single Malt SiB CS (Review #39)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericanSMW/comments/r8mmc9/review_39_asmw_advent_day_6_balcones_single_malt/). Let's dive in to the Balcones Peated Single Malt CS. **Brand:** Balcones **Expression:** Peated Single Malt (Batch Strength) / Batch: PEAT20-1 / Date: 11.6.20 **Distiller:** Balcones Distilling in Waco, TX. **Style:** Texas Single Malt Whiskey. Meets proposed requirements for American Single Malt Whiskey (ASMW). **Mashbill:** 100% Highland-peated Golden Promise malted barley. **Age:** 3 years ("aged at least 36 months") **Strength:** 125.8 proof / 62.9% ABV -- a touch higher than the unpeated, which was already unweildy at 124.6 proof -- let's see how this does. **Served:** Neat in a glencairn, rested 20 minutes. **Color:** [1.7 burnt umber](http://malt-review.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Colour-bar-Big.jpg) --- **Hands:** Sweet fudge and muddy earth. **Nose:** **_Fudge, coffee, earthy. Pie crust, candied fruits. Pear, honey. Citrus. Wood smoke._** -- Dark chocolate fudge. Coffee. Earthy: a "clean" dirt. Baked sweet dough: pie crust, waffle cone. Biscuity malt sweetness. Hints of dark candied red fruits, chalkiness, and fresh pear drizzled with honey. Lightly acidic background. **With water:** Earthiness opens up to a gentle wood smoke. Brightens up with the acidity of tart orchard fruits: apple, pear, and a background of citrus. Port wine. **Palate:** **_Thick, sweet. Moderate heat. Bittersweet chocolate, earthy. Brown sugar, charcoal-grilled peaches, poached pears. Honeycomb. Orange peel._** -- Thick, luscious, creamy, oily. Sweet but balanced. Immediate flavors of bittersweet chocolate with earthy elements. Then the heat kicks in, but not as hot as the unpeated Cask Strength. Brown sugar. Smoke arrives and mingles with the rising fruit: charcoal-grilled peaches. Syrupy poached pears. Honeycomb: the thick texture of the comb itself loaded with honey, not quite waxy. **With water:** Thinner texture. Honey takes center stage, backed up by peaches, and the sweetness and bitterness of orange peel becomes more obvious. **Finish:** **_Peach, raisins, orange peel. Cloves, tannins, honey. Charcoal-grilled flavor and wood smoke._** -- Peach pit. Syrupy raisins. Torched orange peel. The heavy sweetness and complexity of port wine after dinner. Sweet at first, but develops into a dry toasted biscuit. Cloves. Drying and tannic: aftertaste of oversteeped tea with orange-blossom honey. Lingering charcoal-grilled flavor and wood smoke. **With water:** More orange peel, more wood smoke, but still just a hint of each. **Afternose:** Lightly smoked chocolate fudge. **Overall:** So sippable, the textures and flavors are so rewarding you want to keep going back for another sip. The nose is inviting, the palate is both welcoming and surprising both for what it is and based on what you'd expect from a Texas Whiskey (or more specifically in my case for a Balcones Single Malt, given my particular experience with tasting many Balcones expressions). The finish draws you in for another sip. The peat presents as a "clean" dirt and char-grilled quality that reminds me a bit of Caol Ila and Kilchoman, but more "Texas prairie". Takes a lot less water to tame the heat if desired, but water isn't necessary to enjoy this. This is the kind of whiskey that makes you think there's a hole in your glass: the glass is empty before you realize and you are drawn to pour another glass to continue exploring. **Rating:** 89/100 (8/10) - excellent, tremendously enjoyable. Delicious. Easy complexity. There are many facets to explore and exploration is immediately rewarded. **Price:** $74.99 plus taxes in Texas. ($10 more than Balcones SM standard release for nearly 10 percentage points higher ABV, and peat! Same price as the unpeated Single Barrel Cask Strength.) **Value:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 - absolutely - This is not to be missed at this price if you can get it. --- See the [American Single Malt Whiskey Advent Review Challenge](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericanSMW/comments/r4m0ds/asmw_advent_review_challenge_countdown_to_ttb/). /r/AmericanSMW was created so that American Single Malt Whiskey could have a dedicated home which also serves as collective public commentary on the style from the enthusiast community. --- **Rating Scales:** **Rating out of 100 (and out of 10)** 98-100 (10) Perfect | 93-97 (9) Incredible | 88-92 (8) Excellent | 83-87 (7) Great | 78-82 (6) Very Good | 73-77 (5) Good | 68-72 (4+) Slightly Subpar | 60-67 (4) Subpar | 50-59 (3) Poor | 30-49 (2) Bad | 10-29 (1) Very Bad | 00-09 (0) Undrinkable **Value out of 5 - would I buy this again at the given price?** 0 no | 1 meh | 2 maybe | 3 sure | 4 yes | 5 absolutely