Balcones Pot Still Bourbon Whiskey

In our modern world we make things faster but not necessarily better. Is an e-mail from a friend really better than a hand-written letter? How about instant coffee? Or ramen? When the column still was made, distillers danced in celebration. A machine that promised to make a lot more volume and more efficiently too. Today, few distillers make Bourbon with the “old-fashioned” pot still, and Balcones is one of them. The resulting whiskey is well rounded and brimming with nuance: baked apples, caramel, toasted grain, grilled corn, and smoky char. American distillers love their column stills. They’re efficient, predictable, and they don’t even take up much space. But as consumers, we should decide if they are, indeed, better.