The Balcones Distillery in Waco, Texas is owned and operated by Chip Tate, an innovative distiller who creates premium, artisanal spirits that pay homage to America's whiskey tradition. Balcones "True Blue" Corn Whiskey is the cask strength bottling of the "Baby Blue" whiskey. It is also created entirely of roasted Hopi blue corn and matured in lightly charred new American oak barrels, but for a much longer period of time. This imparts deeper, richer wood notes which balance the complexity and freshness of the corn. On the nose, Balcones "True Blue" offers bold, complex aromas of chocolate, caramel, toffee, vanilla and coffee, backed by a distinctive note of roasted corn. At 123 proof, the palate makes quite an impression, but the addition of water allows intricate notes of caramel, fudge, orange spice, fresh oak, pear, leather and cinnamon to emerge. Spicy notes of chili pepper appear on the long, warming finish.

Producer

At the Balcones Distillery in Waco, TX, proprietor and head distiller Chip Tate marries innovation with traditional distillation methods to create premium, artisanal spirits that pay homage to America’s whiskey tradition. His passion for handcrafted spirits is evidenced by his attention to detail. "By building our own condensers, wash stills, heat exchangers, hot liquor tank, etc. we were able to build exactly the equipment we wanted to use to make spirits. We became extremely familiar with the tools of our trade. The equipment itself is one more level of the distilling process that we get to craft with our own hands,” says Tate. After careful inspection and approval of every stage of the production process, Chip and his team hand-dip each bottle of Balcones with wax as a seal of their approval.