Balcones Cataleja Texas Single Malt Review | The Daily Pour

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91Excellent

Balcones Cataleja Texas Single Malt

American Single Malt Balcones
  • Distiller

    Balcones

  • Bottler

    Balcones

  • ABV

    59%

  • Age

    NAS

  • Price $100 to $199.99

Released to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Waco, Texas distillery Balcones, Cataleja is an American single malt whiskey aged for three years in ex-Kentucky bourbon barrels before being finished in a blend of Moscatel, Amontillado Dulce, Oloroso and Palo Cortado sherry casks.

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Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 92
  • Distiller
  • By Stephanie Moreno
  • This is definitely a whisky for sherry lovers, but don't expect an overly sweet experience.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 95
  • Drinkhacker
  • By Christopher Null
  • To that end, it might by the best pure Texas whiskey I’ve tasted to date.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 94
  • Mostly Bourbon
  • By Mike Rosen
  • You might think that so much sherry finishing would create an overwhelming berry-forward profile, but instead, it manages to work beautifully.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 88
  • One More Dram
  • By Elias Aoude
  • This is a worthy 15th anniversary bottling and the best single malt I’ve tried from Balcones to date.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 88
  • The Daily Pour
  • By T8ke
  • It’s a winner and a fitting celebration for the distillery.
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Nose:

    Heavy nose that starts with a bang. Tons of baking spice meets some root beer and cola notes, a raisin bread and dank pipe tobacco note and some pleasant oak, toffee and apple butter.

  • Taste:

    Rich and layered, this is the first Balcones I’ve had in a long time to make me stop and think: “whoa.

  • Finish:

    Long finish. A bruiser with the combination of oak, decadent wine and espresso character and stacks of maple and rich cherry.

  • Overall:

    This is easily the most interesting release I’ve had from Balcones, and that’s saying a lot for a distillery without fear of experimentation (something I love). Cataleja possesses the darkest, most savory and rich notes that remind me of Texas Whiskey and a sherried Glendronach all at once. It’s a winner and a fitting celebration for the distillery.

  • Score:

    88

  • By T8ke
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources