Balcones Distilling of Waco, Texas, announced the release of Big Baby 2022, a five-year-old bottled-in-bond straight corn whisky that will shepherd in the next generation of the distillery’s corn whiskies. Matured in used tequila casks from Mexico, Big Baby 2022 is the distillery’s first foray into bottled-in-bond whisky, which requires that the whisky is a product of a single distiller in a single season, aged for a minimum of four years in a federally bonded warehouse and bottled at 50 percent alcohol by volume (ABV).
Big Baby 2022 joins Balcones Distilling’s lineup of famed corn whiskies, including Baby Blue, Brimstone, True Blue Cask Strength and True Blue 100, which are made from roasted blue corn and are milled, mashed, fermented, distilled and matured in used oak in Waco, Texas. Since the inception of its initial corn whiskies, Balcones has moved its ingredients even closer to home with a hybridized heirloom blue corn grown right in the heart of Texas.
As a crisp corn whisky, Big Baby 2022 is loaded with sparkling minerality, southwestern flavors and a citrusy earthy finish. The 100-proof whisky can be enjoyed neat with soda water and agave syrup, or in a salt-rimmed cocktail.
“We take immense pride in our exploration and conception of blue corn whisky,” said Jared Himstedt, head distiller at Balcones Distilling. “Big Baby 2022 represents our own learnings and maturity, as well as our ability to appreciate whisky that is nurtured with patience and restraint. As we have matured, so have our whiskies, and we look forward to sharing Big Baby 2022 and future variations to come.”
Big Baby 2022 retails for $59.99 and will be available across select states including Texas, California, Arizona, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey.