Balcones Baby Blue Hopi Corn Whisky

I used a snifter for this one, since I drink my Scotch and other whiskeys that way, but after getting an initial whiff it seems pretty clear that this one is better served in a shot glass. It has a heavy alcohol nose with a little earthiness. Buried in the nostril burn is some earthiness and some sweetness from the blue corn used to create this spirit.

Okay, in fairness, and because the taste was so much better than the initial nose, I let it breathe for a bit and came back to it. Many of the volatiles had evaporated and left the snifter, and I was left with a whiskey with a less indecent nose. It possesses some earth and some slight sweetness, butteriness, and some toasted almond or other nuttiness. There’s still some harshness to the nose, but it tames.

On the taste, wow. This is nice. First thing that comes to mind with the sip is a sweet almost toasty nuttiness. And you can taste corn. No doubt about it. It has a heavy, oily feel, and a richness that is far more pleasant to the palate than it was to the nose. While the nose was almost violent, this is a very pleasing whiskey to sip. This is what corn is supposed to taste like, and they have made a fine spirit.

BTW, we picked this bottle up while in Austin last month and are just getting around to tasting it now. No surprise that it won a at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition a few weeks ago.

$35.78 [750ML] from Specs Online in Houston, Texas.