Whisky : Balcones Brujería Texas Single Malt

Country/Region : US/Texas

ABV : 62.9%

Cask : Virgin/Refill American Oak, Ex-PX/Oloroso Sherry

Nose :  A warm rich welcome from dark chocolate covered cherries and dark roasted coffee.  The sweetness of the nose comes though as dried dates, figgy jam, and brown sugar which are nicely complimented by a spice box full of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and coriander.  The nose is a bit hot at first, but develops beautifully if given enough time to breathe.  Rum raisin cake and a bit of leather shoe provide some additional complexity to chew on.

Palate : Medium bodied, the dram has a lovely velvety—slightly waxy and oily— mouthfeel.  The sherry influence is unmistakable: chocolate covered bananas, oranges, and dried fruits.  Black cherry notes are accompanied by a hint of vanilla and a big strip of fresh cinnamon bark.  This dram needs time to breath or it is much too hot— patience is rewarded with added layers of complexity.  Sherry funk that always seems to me to taste like new shoes comes forward along with some slightly tart plum wine.

Finish : Sweet and sour, the finish lingers a good long while.  Though notes of sour fermentation are not the most pleasant, there are clove and cola notes to provide some delicious sugar and spice.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Country BBQ Black cherry Kool-Aid

Something Better : Glenallachie 7Y SMWS 107.16 (similar cinnamon bark/oloroso profile, creamier)

Something Similar : Westland Cask #2479 K&L (similar funky fruity profile, more spice/pastry)

Something Worse : Cragganmore 16Y SMWS 37.119 (similar black cherry, more artificial sugar/fruit)

Notes : Distilled from Golden Promise Barley for the 10th anniversary of Balcones Distillery and aged for a period of time in virgin American oak before being finished in PX and Oloroso casks, the Brujería is the Balcones’ riff on a traditional sherry bomb.  So what does this dram have to do with sorcery, witchcraft, or, brujería?  Brujería can be a traditional folk magic or practice and finishing single malt in sherry casks definitely has its roots in tradition— so maybe they are both traditional approaches?  Or are sherry casks pretty untypical for Balcones and therefore the product of some strange magic?  Or maybe the distillery and the spirits produced there—and to be sure spirit production was long tied to magic— are the work of the brujería, the distiller and their magic.  

I think that last one sounds best and that magic that has been going on for over ten years now and celebrated in this release and its companion the Hechiceros, or sorcerer, which was finished in port casks.

This dram needs lots of time and space to develop and it is a great reminder not to let first impressions ruin a bottle, especially if it seems a bit hot at the outset.  Time and space tend to mellow out sharper flavors and take the edge off any dominant alcohol/spirit notes.  Time to breath or oxidization are your ally for really pulling out the depth of flavor and time was very kind to this bottle.  Over the months, as I slowly worked my way into the bottle, the flavors transitioned from bitter notes at the fore to more classic oloroso and PX fruit notes.  My impression of the bottle moved from ‘oh boy this was a mistake’ to ‘hey for a sherry dominant dram, not bad.’  I am hardly a sherry bomb fanatic or aficionado, so this bottle really is not my cup of tea— even though it has continued to develop beautifully.