American

Whisky Review: Balcones Pilgrimage Texas Single Malt Whisky

We review Balcones Pilgrimage. It's an American single malt distilled in Texas from Golden Promise barley, and aged in used Sauternes casks.

OVERALL RATING

8
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Balcones Pilgrimage (image via Jerry Jenae Sampson)

Tasting Notes

About:

Made with Golden Promise malted barley, aged in used casks, finished in Sauternes dessert wine barrels. Retails for $79.99/750mL. 58.5% ABV. Waco, Texas.
Appearance:
A beautiful, rich cherrywood.
Nose:
The nose gives tobacco, fig, candied pear, and a sweet mustiness from the wood.
Palate:
At first taste the whisky gives you a bit of a pucker mid-palate–cranberry comes to mind–but this pucker is soothed by a subtle spice and nutty note. The whisky is balanced, lacking great heat but imparting a clean, smooth maltiness at the finish.
Finish:
Comments:
I was well impressed with Balcones Pilgrimage Texas Single Malt Whisky, but I am a sucker for a great, good, and even okay single malt. Pilgrimage stands steady in the mid-range of other similar American single malt brands, and was overall an enjoyable tasting.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Mark Littler

Mark Littler is the owner and editor in chief of the Whiskey Wash. He is also the owner of Mark Littler LTD, a prominent whisky and antiques brokerage service in the United Kingdom. Mark is a well known voice in the whisky industry and has a regular column at Forbes.com and has a popular YouTube channel devoted to everything whisky.

Mark completed the purchase of The Whiskey Wash in late 2023.

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