Balcones Special Reserve Texas Rum

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bearmark
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Balcones Special Reserve Texas Rum

Post by bearmark »

I'm a big fan of Balcones whiskey, especially their Texas Single Malt, so I jumped at the chance to visit their distillery in Waco (just a few hours away) for a tour, tasting and special sales event. Unfortunately, the recent ice storm prevented me from attending after securing a ticket (quite a feat in itself).

In any case, a few of my friends who live a bit further south were able to attend and purchased a bottle of their first batch of Special Reserve Texas Rum. At $72, it's quite pricey and I hope it lives up to the premium price. One of my friends who's familiar with the different styles of rum was unable to peg it as a distinct style. It's definitely not Jamaican, but very good according to him. I'll try not to wait too long before opening the bottle and giving it a proper tasting.

As far as Special Reserve, I suspect that they may have a regular Texas Rum offering as well at some point in the future.
Mark Hébert
Rum References: Flor de Caña 18 (Demeraran), The Scarlet Ibis (Trinidadian), R.L. Seale 10 (Barbadian), Appleton Extra (Jamaican), Ron Abuelo 12 (Cuban), Barbancourt 5-Star (Agricole)
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First Impression

Post by bearmark »

For National Rum Day, I opened my bottle of Texas Rum. At 117°, it's a pretty hot one and water is definitely your friend. The taste is unlike any rum that I've had before with a tannic and peppery finish and not a lot of the typical rum flavors. It drinks more like a whiskey than a rum, but you can pick out the molasses presence after letting your tastebuds get acclimated. I specifically opened this bottle on the occasion because I was looking for something different and I wasn't disappointed.

I shared it with a few other people and everyone liked it. After letting it "breathe" for a couple of weeks, I'll give it a more formal tasting and post results. This is still a difficult offering to come by, so it would take a bit of work to locate if it's even available yet.
Mark Hébert
Rum References: Flor de Caña 18 (Demeraran), The Scarlet Ibis (Trinidadian), R.L. Seale 10 (Barbadian), Appleton Extra (Jamaican), Ron Abuelo 12 (Cuban), Barbancourt 5-Star (Agricole)
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Look forward to the review...


An interesting company. Like Lost Spirits, they constructed their own stills, et al from sheet copper. And like so many ADI influenced distillers they depend on mini-barrels. Although they don't say a view of their videos I'd have to guess these are around 7 gallons, and look quite new.

Accordingly, perhaps the very unusual palate Bear noted is due to the very aggressive effects of new wood that is really too small for serious aging. As far as pricing goes, this is very dear for a fast-aged rum when for a few dollars more, its possible to buy some truly amazing rums by Berry, and others that are aged for up to 18 years in good traditional wood.

Another issue is that the "master distiller" is really quite young and seems very inexperienced (again, think Lost Spirits). In the video he tells the story of how the notion of making a Texas Whiskey just came to him, and within months was put into action.

The making of spirits is truly an art, but not one usually acquired very easily or very quickly. A romantic story of such a young man's dream may not be enough. Loving spirits is not the same as making them.

That being said though when reviewers like Jim Murray and F. Paul Pacult post rave reviews of their young whiskey, you have to take note. Then again the same whiskies were found quite wanting by Dave Broom, Whisky Magazine and Serge. Even so, rum is another matter. While many whiskies are 2 to 4 years old, the sweet spot for rums is more like 7 to 10 years which means their new rum is really seven years from release as a decent aged bottling. Last and again, Balcones price of $75 is getting into super-premium pricing reserved for independent bottling of very long age. For a very young OP? Really?

To me, no such young rum can justify this price, regardless.



*******
http://www.balconesdistilling.com/our-story
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Balcones - great whiskey or youthful infatuation?


The more I investigated Balcones and its amazing early success - kudo's to them - the more I became mystified. It started with a detailed examination of Balcones' videos (linked above), soon to be published. In doing so I found the very young and new distiller's only experience was with brewing beer, failed for ten years to establish a microbrewery, then on a whim decided instead to make the first ever "Texas style" whiskey by borrowing $100,000 (a pittance really) and converting an abandoned welding shop into a distillery.

Due to lack of funds, and with no distilling experience he was forced to build his own stills, fermenters, et al. It is fair to consider his entire operation a MacGyver'd distillery; I'm sure he spent a lot of time over at homedistillers.org.

The truth: he invented a great marketing story, but his distilling knowledge is rather simplistic, contradictory, and recycled. Consider him a home distiller with a $100,000 hobby fund and a good pitch.


The amazing part...

His initial efforts succeeded, even moreso than Lost Spirits, which was yet another wild-assed, but failed dream. Both of these guys were smart enough to know two things: first that they lacked experience and thus needed one helluva marketing story. We know all about that of Lost Spirits. Balcones pushed an invented Texas style (which never existed), using a mash bill "Texas honey", sugar and figs (some sourced outside Texas), the use of new and untried unique raw materials (heritage blue corn) and last some untested techniques (like smoking the distillate rather than the malted grain).

Whereas Lost Spirits got a few positive reviews, Balcones did a much better job of promotion and hit real paydirt by submitting product and scoring some commercial golds (like best new craft whiskey) from some of the usual suspects, which led to some VERY quotable positive reviews (Murray, Pacult and Ralfy) - but - some pretty shaky ones as well (Broom, Serge, Whisky Magazine). The same was true on the net: a very mixed bag: positives from the posters who pride themselves on discovering things (especially when they are high priced) and others who found Balcones whisky rather lacking.


Here's what I think...

With as much fine whiskey that's already out there, it is almost impossible for a new distiller to honestly conceive, make and sell another one - however good - that no matter how you cut it - would still be just another new young whiskey. To do so at premium prices - say $75 to $100 - is well, not gonna happen. This is exactly why you need what marketing people call a USP - a Unique Selling Proposition. You can't just sell a fine young whiskey, and especially for super premium prices. You need a great, romantic and inspirational story. Balcones has one. You need something that's very different and unique. Balcones offered two. You have to have a great sense of promotion, and to sell your story with a sophisticated net presence. Balcones did. Which brings us to the product...

The initial products - a honey/sugar/fig based "whiskey) and a 100% heritage blue corn whiskey were in fact, VERY unique. That they were made by a boy with a dream, who actually built a distillery in an abandoned building under a bridge, including learning how to weld and to build his own stills and other equipment was the icing on the cake. The American dream! This promoter/builder got this delicious story to the right people, entered a few softball competitions and got the early gold (awards) he needed. Enough so that he was noticed by the blogs, and thence by a couple big boys - the reviewers we all respect.

It's like winning the lottery. How many dream of winning and buy ticket after ticket, but never actually win the million dollars? Then there's the guy who reads a book on how to win the lottery, borrows and makes a $100,000 bet and what?! Wins!! Did he know what he was doing? I'll say this, he played his card (sp) right, but in the end he was in the right place at the right time. The respected reviewers - like all of us - craved something new, romantic and unique. Balcones simply was there, the story was there, and the unique concept products were there.

This was so unusual, so romantic and truly unique that three good reviewers were intrigued enough to recognize and reward the effort, particularly when there were no other products to which to compare. No reference standards here. These reviewers were thus reviewing the uniqueness and the newness, but not necessarily the quality.

Yet other equally talented reviewers (some would say superior) were less taken in by the story and yes recognized the uniqueness, but rightfully expressed the counterpoint of its undeveloped youth and the preponderance of extractives. Their scores were average at best and would likely have been worse had they been submitted by established distillers.


Balcones may prove be a victim of their explosive and early success

When you get noticed by Forbes you've - gulp - arrived, and Balcones was noticed as Forbes repeated their rags to riches story. Balcones is now in 20 states, was forced to hire a "brand ambassador", and already had to drop their small distributor who couldn't move enough product. They've already received substantial buy out offers, no doubt in the millions and turned them down. Tate was also quoted as fearing that the mega's will force him into a sale by interfering with his supply relationships. That could happen. The owner was reported to have refused these on the basis that he wishes to remain a small artisinal distiller. But at the same time he's purchased a multi-story warehouse (now used to store his mini barrels) which he plans to convert into a real distillery. As much as he's promoted how his unique homemade moonshine stills are responsible for his quality, he was quoted as having arranged for two new 2,000 gallon Scottish built copper pot stills, whose output of 100,000 cases translates to a possible $40 M in sales. He won't be building those.

That is hardly artisan. You can't have it both ways, but its clear that Tate wants to join the single malt club in a big way. With typical Texan humility he sees himself as "another MacCallan or Balvenie". My prediction:

1. It will not take long before the initial interest and focus on "uniqueness" will have run its course, particularly at his super-premium prices for what remains a very young 10 month old whiskey. Will buying one or two satisfy the upscale collectors? Probably. Will there be repeat sales? Hmm.

2. A move to two relatively huge stills from his current single room welding shop operation will produce a ton of product, which means many, many more people must be willing to buy the story and pay the super-premium prices. This implies a HUGE jump in sales in a short period of time. If the product is aged, it will mean a HUGE increase in aging costs and tying up major amounts of money. He may run out of market or money. What is he thinking?

3. Tate may have anticipated the aging problem, and should already have realized the limitations of his ADI style mini-barrels; thus, Forbes quoted him as looking to his brand new, $72 OP rum as the answer. More than one of us knows the answer to this hope: no way. As noted above, I believe there is no way on God's good earth that a young woody overproof priced at $72 will ever sell in large quantities to the rum market especially - who has little regard for real quality. Even the Preacher's infamous Jamaican dark OP is exceedingly hard to find. You'll never keep two 2,000 gallon stills busy with rum of any kind. Myers's and W&N already produce quality, highly rated OP's at bargain prices and yes, they are pot-stilled as well. Be careful, Mon!

I believe Balcones would be well advised to stop the madness, and either sell out, or continue at the level of say a Phil Prichard. Slow steady growth. Leave the warehouse for storage, buy some good bigger barrels, and set some distillate aside while continuing to bring out a series of limited, new, creative and unique issues. It's like the lottery...

A survey of the miniscule numbers of big lottery winners shows that they really don't know how to handle real money and success, spend the winnings thoughtlessly and ending up back where they started - or worse! As for small business, there are any number of examples of those who grew too fast, too quickly and to their own detriment. Balcones should recognize the fragility and possible lack of legs of their concept:

1. Nobody is really buying their self created "Texas Style". Maybe in 50 years.
2. Waco and the nearby Alamo matter in Texas, but this effort may be Balcone's last stand.
3. Uniqueness works - but only for awhile - like sex you need to keep trying new positions.
4. In the end only true quality, true skill, and great aging will prevail.
5. Balcones is confusing rum swillers with single malt afficianados.

Infatuation is exciting, nice and fun. But generally ends...




********
http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/ ... -in-texas/
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

It'll be fun to watch...


Can Balcones continue their early success, based on a series of novelty whiskies based on such things as one highly novel young spirit made from fermented figs, honey and sugar, or a somewhat less novel distillate of blue corn? It depends.

A whiskey made from long fermented figs, sugar and honey - regardless of the quality - will produce a host of new aromas and flavors highly interesting to some, and off putting to others. That's the novelty.

My grandfather was a successful inventor who once took me aside to explain his success "Jimmy, if you want to make money, invent something that no one else has, then they'll have to buy it from you and pay your price". He did exactly that, and with considerable success.

But theres a back half to this story. His products were so unique that the market for them was limited - he did very, very well - but he was not going to be the Ford motor company. I believe Balcones is in the same position and would do well to really understand their market and their real selling proposition - not the one they've made up.

I believe that niche is reasonably made spirits of great novelty, attractive to a subset of well heeled afficianados who can afford to experiment and to follow the mad and well egoed experimenter. Part of the allure is that the product is hard to get (ask Pappy) and should be kept that way on purpose. Making a series of such hard to get inventive products to this cadre of followers is a marketing plan and one that so far, has worked. The great danger - I believe - is in scaling up too fast, and this may be about to happen.


Grow and expand - but carefully...

Balcones planned new facility is HUGE compared to his current welding shop operation with it's two small, handmade stills. The new facility is a 65,000 sq ft, multi-story building. Reports state that it will house five sets of two stills similar to his current stills which he will build, and two huge 2,000 gallon Forsythe stills made in Scotland.

That is a HUGE jump in capacity, but that once built must be used, and much more product sold. The capacity has been estimated at 100,000 cases/year, $40M at wholesale. What's that, maybe $80M in retail sales? To who? Of what?

Is the current small cadre of followers enough? How about the growing number of shaky reviews and drinkers who are not impressed? Balcones reviews are divided. Novelty can obviously be successful, but scaling it so dramatically is taking a big risk. Worse yet is that once again, this driven individual has been forced to seek investors.

Apparently this was not so easy. According to Spirits Business:
"Tate added that the expansion could have taken place sooner, but he “held out” for a certain type of investor to work with. “Balcones has been fortunate enough to have a number of investment partners interested in working with us,” he said. “But we have held out for partners that share our commitment to quality over quick return and who are interested in growing a business we can pass on to our children."
Clearly our boy realizes not only the risks, but the confounding needs and expressions of investor partner pressure. He's convinced he's got a bunch of deep pockets that will be happy to just sit back in their Barcaloungers, light a long cigar, pour a dram of fig distillate and relax, relax, relax while leaving him to run the business with his former iron hand, and to chase his dream.

Do you believe that? It doesn't work that way. This move portends a huge increase in capacity and business. While Tate has been reported to run a tight business, he's used to being in control, and is rumoured be a bit thin skinned. That will all change as more rapidly than he may expect, as the investor partners will begin to express their own goals, methods and demands. Big money comes wiith big strings.


Beer is not Whiskey...

For one, I support Tate as one of the very few small distillers who are actually making a difference, and one of the few to achieve such rapid small business success. Compare to Dogfish Head and Sam Calagione whom I'm sure he knows. Calagione made a similar huge leap to his new large facility, but with some important differences:

Craft beer is MUCH more established. Sam has managed to maintain control of his beer. And last Dogfish is hardly considered a novelty, has a much larger following and last has engendered consistently good reviews.

As a novel craft distiller, Balcones was a small business success, and surely provided a very good living too, I'd wager. But as an $80M distiller he may well fall prey to the risks and dangers of bigness: general market forces (no longer a small cadre of followers), increased investor pressure, distribution and retail issues, major marketing and advertising costs and decisions, representation, and serious attention from the mega's - all these formerly minimal but now of quickly growing concern. The mega's - as in Beer Wars - will absolutely take note, and defend their shelf space.

The exponential increase in capacity MUST be utilized: how, where and what will be produced and successfully sold? Tate is used to micromanaging a small operation in every regard. I doubt that he will be able to ignore the many new concerns of growth, management and marketing, et al - vast and demanding issues that will certainly steal part of his mind and lots of attention away from what he really loves - namely experimentation and creation - away from what made Balcones what it was in the first place.

Personally, I'm not at all sure he completely understands the difference between what he has successfully promoted to date and what he has actually produced. A smaller step forward might have allowed both modest growth and the need to better understand his own company, products and abilities. He needs this. Consider: he's not really aged anything yet. His distilling and blending skills - which truly require decades to achieve - remain new and undeveloped.

Novelty will only get you so far.

The risks now are just as huge as his new capacity, yet his own capacity is limited. What will happen? Will the under-the-bridge kid make it? Or is it too much, too soon? Will market and sales pressures change the mix?

Stay tuned...




*******
http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2013/ ... istillery/
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Balcones real sales proposition...


...the one they haven't realized. As some of you have noted, I'm fascinated by a successful small company who gets such mixed review on its products. A real mystery, but revealed in my last post, above. Consider this:
"Balcones True Blue 100 ($57) corn whiskey (made in Waco, Texas, from 100 percent Hopi blue corn), solves the problem by making something so different that it evades comparison with what you know.

On the nose, it recalls now Scotch, now rhum agricole from Martinique. Sip it, which is no hardship, and it recalls cafe mocha as much as it does bourbon whiskey. It's young and eccentric at the same time, and it's found its own path..."
http://www.esquire.com/features/drinkin ... -myth-0413

Please - and this include Balcones - read the above underline again and carefully. And skip the part about being "so different" but focus on "that it evades comparison". This is my exact point. The Balcones products have been so novel that unlike rum, there are no reference standards. This leads to the wide disparity in reviews:

Pacult, Murray and even dear Ralfy loved their drams while Broom, Whisky Magazine and Serge? Not so much, and average at best. Such an extreme difference is rare, but now - at last - we should understand.

When something stands alone, you're gonna love it or hate it and the net proves this. Actually more ordinary mortals really aren't that excited, while a cadre of deep pocketed collectors are.


Flat Ass Bottom LIne


I don't believe Tate really gets this, or if he does the thrill of success and his new financial backing have clouded his thinking. My proof: he's taken on some very large investors and is building a serious facility with some serious production capabilities ($80M/year).

His past success was based less on top quality and real experience but more on novelty and uniqueness of a sort that by definition has a limited market: those who don't mind spending $70 to $100 for very young whiskies made from very unusual mash bills (think figs, honey and turbinado sugar) as a point of pride and possibly too for the taste.

These are not mass market products. The fact that these were hard-to-get made them even more attractive. When there's $80M dollars worth of fig based spirit easily available, the attractiveness may not be there. A much better marketing plan would retain the elements that have already succeeded, and in spades.

Small and limited runs, series of new and creative releases, hard-to-get, promoted by the cadres of cultists who really dig it, and look forward to the next experiment. At the same time our boy needs to keep working to hone his fermentation and distilling skills, and to set aside product for real aging (15 to 30 gallon, min.).

But that's me, and what do I know? And who really listens to idiots?
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Balcones Texas Rum Review

Post by bearmark »

I finally got around to reviewing Balcones Texas Rum, part of their Special Release series. You can read the details here, but I'll issue a spoiler here... I was pleasantly surprised at how much it had improved. My opinion completely changed after some (extended) oxidation.
Mark Hébert
Rum References: Flor de Caña 18 (Demeraran), The Scarlet Ibis (Trinidadian), R.L. Seale 10 (Barbadian), Appleton Extra (Jamaican), Ron Abuelo 12 (Cuban), Barbancourt 5-Star (Agricole)
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