Balcones True Blue

Balcones True Blue is truly great stuff, and a must have for those who want to learn the grains through sampling unaged whiskey. This different varietal of corn has its own unique flavours.

Unaged...but most definitely not "White Whiskey".

Just for clarification, True Blue is definitely not "unaged." Balcones does not sell any unaged products and never adds any caramel coloring to our bottlings. It is true that we do not declare age statements on the bottle, but that is only because I do not find them helpful to the consumer in this context. However, all of that "DELICIOUS and DARK" comes from the barrel, of course.

Most sincere thanks to Voidwp2556 and to Victor for their kind comments. I''m so pleased you enjoy the True Blue.

Best regards,

Chip

@chiptate, thanks for the clarification. Balcones has a lot of great products. As for age statements, the consumer is the one to decide as to what information is helpful. For me, and I am sure for many others who take whiskey seriously, No Age Statement in young whiskeys is just arrogant manipulation by the distiller, and detracts from the reputation of the company and its product line.

Victor, I'm sorry you feel that way. I will have to respectfully disagree with you. As a distiller, I can tell you for certain that there are many equally, if not more important, facts than age that are left off the label routinely connecting to what is in the bottle--such as what ingredients were used and where the whisky was actually made. In my experience, arrogance is rarely expressed as understatement, but rather more often in overstatement. I think that all distillers should have to disclose the origin of their spirits, for instance. But as it is, we must each label our whiskies according to our own country's requirements. Given your assumptions about our whisky, which I'm glad you enjoy, I don't see how making fewer claims is manipulative or arrogant. After all, you assumed the worst in saying it was unaged after all. That said, I'm not sure where you think the deep brown color comes from since addition of coloring in most US categories is forbidden, unlike in the UK. In any case, I'm happy to answer any questions you have about the whisky to fill in the information we couldn't fit or weren't allowed to put on the label.

Respectfully,

Chip

I was under the impression that the deep colour originated from the blue corn itself. And, 'unaged' is not for me 'assuming the worst' from a spirit. I hold no prejudice against unaged spirits.

I don't see information-giving as boast or braggadocio, but merely as enablement of the consumer to have a deeper appreciation of what is actually in the glass.

I am in the camp as are many others in Connosr that more information is better, i.e. better for understanding the spirit. A mental understanding of the spirit complements and enhances the sensual enjoyment of the spirit.

I very much appreciate your offer to answer questions on your products, and I do have some at this point. How long is True Blue aged in oak? Are the barrels new, used, or a combination of the two? Are the barrels charred? If other questions arise I will feel free to ask the questions.

Thank you for your responses,

Gene

And, Chip, one more thing, in this Connosr club, I am perhaps the most fierce opponent of emphasizing age of our 7,000+ members. I am especially opposed to the idea that "older is better" with whisik(e)y. But age is just one more piece of information which I want to know about what I am drinking.

Gene, we are certainly in agreement that more information is better. As a point of interest, the mash itself is a dark purplish blue because of the blue corn, but all spirits come off the still clear regardless of the base ingredients used actually. The color is extracted from the toasted and charred barrels. The casks range in size from 5 gallon to 60 gallons in size and most of the whiskies in a blend will have spent time in both. The barrels are very lightly used in order to meet the US requirements for corn whisky to be aged in used charred oak or new uncharred oak. Recent True Blue bottlings have been distributed in both the US, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. As I'm sure you know, the EU regulations specify that products labeled as whisky must be aged a minimum of 3 years.

In general for Balcones bottlings, there is a vast range of ages represented in each blend. Not only that, I blend in multiple stages by first blending cuvées of barrels to be married and then rebarreled in other cask at least once, sometimes more. As a result, the product is better represented, I feel by a label like True Blue or Baby Blue like a brandy producer might use 'XO' or 'VSOP' designations--an implied age, yes, but more about blending profile. If it were up to me, we would do away with so many of the arcane category rules that exist and simply provide detailed information about what's in the bottle in many deferent ways to the consumer to decide for him or herself. But the TTB has not retained me as a consultant in that capacity to date ;). Again, I agree that information should be freely shared with the consumer but prefer to do so at length in a context like this when questions arise. I appreciate your comments and questions.

Best,

Chip

Chip, thank you for the nice information provided. It is much appreciated.

Gene

You're very welcome.

Best,

Chip

Wow, this old exchange between @Victor and @chiptate is just remarkable! I wish more producers like Mr. Tate would contribute to the conversations here on Connosr.

And yet, while there were lots of words, not much was said.

I don't think ol' chip ( no relation to ol' has... ) would be allowed to get away with an answer like that in today's climate, with the significant upswing in NAS flooding the market and blogosphere that has occurred.