Malt | Pale Ale | Ginger beer | Fresh baked bread | Mild spiced oak

Milk chocolate | Graham cracker | Marshmallow | Honey

Rising heat | Pepper | Green tea | Mild peatiness | Lingering peatiness aftertaste

Lost Lantern and Balcones Distillery have collaborated on a number of releases together since Lost Lantern hit the scene. The two companies work well together as neither shy away from trying something new and inventive. When a whiskey company that sets out to cover new territory is new, all they want is for consumers to know who they are and to understand what they are offering. That flips as a company becomes well established, as they want to offer something unique and not become complacent. Balcones has always been a wild card in the industry. Their whiskeys may have a common characteristic about them, but they’re never boring. That can be a double-edged sword though, as sometimes their uniqueness can be too much for some people and they write them off altogether.

Lost Lantern 2023 Single Cask No.11 Balcones Distillery is a 3 year old malt whiskey made with 100% Golden Promise malted barley. The new make was divided into three parts before it entered new American, European, and French oak barrels, which were also heavy toasted. After 3 years the barrels were blended together and entered into used Balcones peated Golden Promise single malt barrels and rested for another 20 months. That’s a lot to take in, and the resulting whiskey will likely buck any assumption you might have about Balcones.

If this at all sounds appealing, but you’ve written off Balcones, this might be a release that you give them another chance with. This is very toned-down in regards to the Balcones characteristics and even its overall maltiness. The multi-barrel usage has completely transformed this whiskey into a fascinating display of flavors. The nose is malt forward, but backed up with pale ale beer, ginger beer, and fresh baked bread. The palate is a s’mores lover's paradise with a finish that is spicy and peppery, with a smokey and mild accent of green tea. The peat from its finishing barrel is only slightly present during the whiskey’s tail end, and only helps add dimension to this already complex whiskey.

You never know what you’re going to get from a Lost Lantern release that features Balcones Distillery, and Lost Lantern 2023 Single Cask No.11 Balcones Distillery is a perfect example of checking your assumptions at the door. It’s an incredibly unique and inventive whiskey. You can fight over all of the Kentucky limited releases you want this fall, but it’s hidden gems like this that truly impress whiskey drinkers looking to expand their horizons.