![]() ![]() Balcones is a haven for whiskey lovers, featuring a tasting room complete with its own cocktail menu. Though he hasn’t been involved with the distillery for almost 8 years and has since started up a new distillery in Waco, in the end his suspicions proved to be right. Texas might not be known for its whiskey distilleries, but Balcones in Waco has tried to change that since they first opened their distillery in an old welding shop under a bridge in 2009. ![]() While according to the Times article Tate’s behavior could be volatile and his business acumen questionable, one thing he did fear as things broke down was that Allen would enable a larger company to come in and buy his life’s work (Tate had also previously turned down other prospective buyers). Thanks to Tate’s successor as head distiller, Jared Himstedt, the whisky stayed delicious and the praise has kept coming. building, just a few blocks away from the original location. This award winning brand is now located in the 65,000-square foot Texas Fireproof Storage Co. However, after Allen bought a majority stake to help Tate expand the business and move to a much larger new facility, the relationship between the two collapsed and Tate was completely removed from any Balcones-related activity in 2014 (this excellent New York Times piece provides a lot of details, which are worthy of a soap opera). Originally started in 2008 in an old welding shop in Waco, Texas, Balcones Distilling was the second whiskey distillery in Texas and the first to release a Texas Whiskey. He built the distillery’s first stills himself, and even coopered some of his own casks in the company’s early days.īusiness grew and critical accolades poured in when it became clear that the whisky he was producing was unusual and excellent. Legendary distiller Chip Tate built and founded Balcones in 2008 in a former welding shop. Through the acquisition, Diageo will eventually reap the rewards of this laudable and progressive campaign and be involved in how this category develops over time.īalcones’ original founder is probably not impressed by the Balcones sale. This (probable) future legal whiskey category was originally spearheaded by The American Single Malt Commission, by a group of 9 distilleries, including Balcones and Westward, which eventually grew to 170 lobbying the TTB. Diageo’s acquisition also comes shortly after the American Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) closed a consultation and put forward a proposal to standardise a legal definition for ‘American Single Malt’, though legislation has not yet been presented. ![]()
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