Central Track Staff
Not Sure What To Get Your Friends And Family As Holiday Presents This Year? There’s Almost Certainly A Balcones Product That’ll Do The Trick.
This is a sponsored post presented by Waco’s Balcones Distilling. Read more about the products from The Original Texas Whiskey — including Lineage Texas Single Malt Whisky — right here.
The weather’s gotten colder. The red-and green-colored advertisements that air during sporting events are nonstop. Oh, and that damn Mariah Carey song is completely unavoidable at this point.
Yup, it’s officially holiday season.
If you’re anything like we used to be, as much as you love getting together with friends and family during this time of year, you’re also filling up foreboding dread about what the hell you’re supposed to get your loved ones as gifts.
But, throughout the years, we’ve learned one thing for sure about this season: There’s really no need to overthink gift-buying. Like, at all.
Unless you have a super thoughtful gift in mind, or if the person you’re buying for has explicitly told you what they want you to get them, then just settle on old faithful and present them the gift of booze.
Barring some glaring and obvious exceptions, gifting booze to a loved one is always a solid idea. Why? Well, for one thing, unlike the trinket you bought at the gift store that they’ll just toss on the shelf and never think about again, your loved ones will actually put the booze you buy them to use. And if you’re introducing them to a product that they might legitimately fall in love with and buy for themselves down the line, too? Well, then that’s just royal icing on the gingerbread house.
Still, there’s an art even to this path, should you choose it. You don’t just wanna pop over to the liquor store and buy one of those pre-packaged bottle-and-shot-glass combos that fill the shelves there this time of year. That’s the way-too-easy way out here.
No, you want your loved one to know you put at least a little thought into this gift beyond the notion of, “Hey, how about you get a little buzzed on my behalf one of these days? Here you go!”
Fortunately for you, then, the good folks at Balcones Distilling out of Waco have a ton of varied spirits to offer — and one of them is guaranteed to help you nail the assignment this holiday.
Not sure where to start? Well, that’s where we come in. Here’s a rundown of a few different Balcones products to consider buying for six different types of loved ones you might have in your life.
The Storyteller: Lineage Texas Single Malt Whisky
No, we can’t all be the late Larry McMurtry, but that’s never stopped a Texan from spinning a good yarn among friends — and you’d be hard-pressed to find another spirit with a story as strong as this Balcones whiskey has. A three-years-in-the-making product that aims to tell the 13-year Balcones saga to date, Lineage pays homage to the single-malt, old-world scotches that inspired Balcones’ launch while also celebrating the brand’s deep Texas roots. After a 36+ month aging process, its combination of malted barleys from Scotland and the Texas high plains for a whiskey results in a sipper that’s sweet on the nose and alluring & complex in taste. A classic storyteller rarely needs much prodding, but a whiskey with a palate and tale as delightful as this one is sure to loosen any tongue.
The Blue-Blooded Texan: Baby Blue Corn Whisky
We all have at least one person in our lives who wears their native Texan status all-too-proudly on their sleeve — presuming we aren’t that person ourselves, of course. Well, for the person who is always ready to rattle off just how many generations back their Lone Star State roots go, this one’s a no-brainer. Balcones’ first spirit isn’t just a bright and sweet treat any drinker would enjoy; it also bears the distinction of being the state’s very first post-Prohibition whiskey to legally hit the market. That’s a brag-worthy honor not just for Balcones, but for any drinker with even the slightest bit of Texas pride to enjoy.
The Pit Master: Brimstone Smoked Corn Whisky
In Texas, we take our barbecue seriously as hell – and hell if this smoky Balcones offering isn’t distilled in that spirit. Smoked with sunbaked Texas scrub oak, this dark delight presents the delectable char of a running barbecue pit on its nose, making it the perfect sipper for the meat-smoker in your life to enjoy while carefully tending to the brisket and ribs of which they’re oh so proud.
The Rock ‘N’ Roller: Tres Hombres Texas Whisky
The newest entry to the Balcones rocker is a must-try for any Texas music die-hard. Released as a collaboration with the iconic, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted Lone Star trio ZZ Top, this offering honors the band’s 1973 Tres Hombres LP — its third full-length release and first to break into the top 10 on the Billboard album charts —by combining roasted blue corn, malted barley and rye for a unique blended spirit. Have mercy, indeed.
The Craft Cocktail Enthusiast: 100 Proof Texas Rye
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the series of mixology videos we recently created with some of the top bartenders in Dallas, it’s that a well-made rye is your best friend if you’re trying to up your home cocktail game — and you really can’t do much better than Balcones’ buttery, 100-proof offering on this front. Your cocktail-adoring friend will find plenty of use for this plays-supremely-well-with-others spirit, whether they’re looking to craft a Manhattan, a boulevardier, a Sazerac or a creation all their own.
The People-Pleaser: Texas Pot Still Bourbon
And for that one person whose thing is taking care of others, you can make sure they’re taken care of with Balcones’ top-selling Bourbon. Made grain-to-glass with a traditional pot still distillation, this spirit retains its big flavors of candied pecans & leather, as well as its aromatic senses of charred oak & honeycrisp apples. With a distinct richness and soft finish, it’d be impossible to find someone who wouldn’t be pleased with this crowd favorite — perfect for the people-pleaser in your life who loves to share their riches.
All photos courtesy of Balcones Distilling.