Balcones Distillery Distillery
Distillery
Founded in 2009
Balcones Distilling is a small distillery, founded in 2008, by Chip Tate in Waco, Texas —just about half way between Dallas and Austin. They hand-make a range of Whiskeys and Rums, all of which are unabashedly crafted.
Winning over 140 awards, Balcones Spirits are made with serious craftsmanship and quality. They have a pair of handmade stills, cranking out a range of ten core Whiskeys and Spirits, along with the occasional special project or two.
Winning over 140 awards, Balcones Spirits are made with serious craftsmanship and quality. They have a pair of handmade stills, cranking out a range of ten core Whiskeys and Spirits, along with the occasional special project or two.
Book a Tour
As a Flaviar Member, you can visit this distillery and enjoy a distillery tour with peeks behind the scenes, and members' perks.
As a Flaviar Member, you can visit this distillery and enjoy a distillery tour with peeks behind the scenes, and members' perks.
Balcones Distillery offers Flaviar members free general admission tour (+1 guest) OR free tasting flight at the bar (+1 guest), a free Glencairn Tasting Glass + Balcones Sticker, $10 off bottle of their choice, 25% off all other merchandise and an opportunity to meet and greet with Head Distiller Jared Himstedt (based upon availability).
When would you like to visit Balcones Distillery distillery?
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Flavor Spiral™
About The Flavor Spiral
caramel
corn
oak
berries
dark chocolate
honey
apple
smoky
vanilla
What does Balcones Distillery taste like?
The Flavor Spiral™ shows the most common flavours that you'll taste in Balcones Distillery American Whiskey. It's based on all Balcones Distillery drinks in our large database and gives you a chance to taste Balcones Distillery before actually tasting it.
We invented Flavor Spiral™ here at Flaviar to get all your senses involved in tasting drinks and, frankly, because we think that classic tasting notes are boring.
The Flavor Spiral™ shows the most common flavours that you'll taste in Balcones Distillery American Whiskey. It's based on all Balcones Distillery drinks in our large database and gives you a chance to taste Balcones Distillery before actually tasting it.
We invented Flavor Spiral™ here at Flaviar to get all your senses involved in tasting drinks and, frankly, because we think that classic tasting notes are boring.
Distillery Details
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CountryUnited States
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Established2009
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OwnerIndependent
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Visitor centerYes
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StatusActive
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Address225 S 11th St, Waco, TX 76701
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Phone(254) 755-6003
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Website
Dog Dogson's
Smartass
Corner
Corner
In 2012 and 2013, Balcones was ready to take on outside investors to fund their explosive growth. After an announcement of agreement, the deal quickly went awry, resulting in significant court disputes and alleged threats of violence. Founder Chip Tate has since left the company, leaving operations in the hands of the investors.
Video from Balcones Distillery
Video transcription
Female: All right Eli, thank you. A local distillery is about one month away from distributing its first product. Balcones Distillery in Waco was started back in March of 2008 and today Tom Erleegy [SP] got a behind-the-scenes look at the operation.
Tom: Tucked away underneath a bridge on 17th Street in Waco, Chip Tate filled his first barrel of Rumbold, a Rum-like beverage with a Texas twist.
Male 2: Turbinado sugar, fair trade sugar out of Sugarland, Texas, as sort the Rum part of Rumbole and that's mixed with Mission figs and Texas wildflower honey, and we ferment all that together to produce then what we put in our stills.
Tom: Tate also plans on filling barrels with other drinks, including his own Whiskey, but to get to this point, he had a lot of work and not a lot of resources to build the equipment.
Chip: I guess all I really knew is I knew I could build the equipment and I knew I couldn't afford to have someone else build the equipment.
Tom: Tate says Balcones is the only Whiskey distillery in Texas, so with every bottle will come a little Texas pride.
Chip: We've gotten lots of excitement from Texans about the idea of having your own unique kind of Whiskey and yeah, so. I'm excited to produce it. There's only about 50.
Tom: But Tate says he can't pinpoint where his excitement for making Whiskey came from.
Chip: I think I've always liked good food and for me, a good drink is just a category of good food. For whatever reason, I've always been crazy about fermentation.
Tom: And as Tate continues to ferment and distil, there's no doubt Tate loves what he is doing.
Chip: The Whiskey is very dear to my heart, but it's really the craft of it, I think just doing the work and producing something that becomes well known would be great, but just knowing that you've a good product out there.
Tom: In Waco, Tom Erleegy News 10.
Female: And Tate says his Whiskey should be coming out in the upcoming months. He says the prices on one of his products will range from $30 to $50 per bottle.
Tom: Tucked away underneath a bridge on 17th Street in Waco, Chip Tate filled his first barrel of Rumbold, a Rum-like beverage with a Texas twist.
Male 2: Turbinado sugar, fair trade sugar out of Sugarland, Texas, as sort the Rum part of Rumbole and that's mixed with Mission figs and Texas wildflower honey, and we ferment all that together to produce then what we put in our stills.
Tom: Tate also plans on filling barrels with other drinks, including his own Whiskey, but to get to this point, he had a lot of work and not a lot of resources to build the equipment.
Chip: I guess all I really knew is I knew I could build the equipment and I knew I couldn't afford to have someone else build the equipment.
Tom: Tate says Balcones is the only Whiskey distillery in Texas, so with every bottle will come a little Texas pride.
Chip: We've gotten lots of excitement from Texans about the idea of having your own unique kind of Whiskey and yeah, so. I'm excited to produce it. There's only about 50.
Tom: But Tate says he can't pinpoint where his excitement for making Whiskey came from.
Chip: I think I've always liked good food and for me, a good drink is just a category of good food. For whatever reason, I've always been crazy about fermentation.
Tom: And as Tate continues to ferment and distil, there's no doubt Tate loves what he is doing.
Chip: The Whiskey is very dear to my heart, but it's really the craft of it, I think just doing the work and producing something that becomes well known would be great, but just knowing that you've a good product out there.
Tom: In Waco, Tom Erleegy News 10.
Female: And Tate says his Whiskey should be coming out in the upcoming months. He says the prices on one of his products will range from $30 to $50 per bottle.
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Drinks from Balcones Distillery
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