Balcones Texas Pot Still Bourbon
Balcones Distilling · Balcones Distillery, Waco, Texas
Balcones Texas Pot Still is what happens when a distillery decides that 'grain-to-glass' is a promise, not a slogan. Malting their own roasted blue corn in-house is not a shortcut anyone takes — it's expensive, labor-intensive, and demands expertise most distilleries don't have. The reward is a bourbon with a genuinely unmistakable profile: the nutty, brown-sugar sweetness of roasted heirloom corn that you simply cannot buy from an industrial malt house. At under fifty dollars, this is estate-distilled Texas bourbon from a distillery that controls every variable from seed to seal.
Nose
Warm cornbread and toasted pecan lead, followed by dark caramel, baking spice, and a distinctive note of roasted blue corn tortilla that tells you immediately this isn't a Kentucky bourbon. Brown sugar and a whisper of charred oak round out the picture.
Palate
Full-bodied and richly textured. Sweet corn and caramel hit first, then yield to dried fig, cinnamon, and the signature nuttiness of roasted heirloom corn. A warm, almost mole-like spice builds mid-palate, grounded by soft Texas wheat.
Finish
Long and warming with lingering pecan, baked brown sugar, and a final note of toasted grain. The Texas aging shows itself as an extra depth of oak that belies the youth in the glass.
- Mash Bill
- At least 51% Roasted Blue Corn, Texas Wheat, Texas Rye, Malted Barley
Cocktail Suggestion
Cocktail — The Texas Tradition: Combine 2 oz Balcones Texas Pot Still, 0.25 oz mesquite honey syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, and 1 dash chocolate bitters in a mixing glass. Stir with ice for thirty seconds, strain over a large cube in a rocks glass, and garnish with an expressed orange peel. The mesquite honey leans into the bourbon's roasted-grain character rather than fighting it.
Food Pairing
Pair with: Smoked brisket rubbed with coffee and ancho chile — the roasted corn and pecan in the bourbon echo the dark bark on the meat, while the soft wheat and caramel tame the heat.
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