Balcones Mirador Eclipse: A Waco Phenomenon
Balcones Mirador Eclipse photo credit Balcones Distillery
As someone who missed the great American eclipse last April, I am downright appreciative that Balcones saw fit to try and bottle up some of the spirit of the event in the form of their Mirador Eclipse (110 proof, MSRP $100.00). Typically, I am skeptical of commemorative offerings — all bottle, and no booze. But in this instance, Balcones has made something special that is a 2024 creation worth collecting before the year slips away from us. Read more about Balcones.
Balcones Distilling
Balcones is known for their American Single Malts, and in 2024 they won double gold in the NY International Spirits Competition for Lineage, and gold for both Cataleja and Mirador Eclipse. In December 2023 the Balcones' team came and hosted a feast and tasting in San Francisco. It was a lovely spread along a massive wooden table for twenty at the aptly-named EPIC steakhouse beneath the coruscating reflection of the Bay Bridge. At the end of the evening, Balcones brand manager Alex Elrod informed us that the table itself had been brought 1,750 miles from the distillery's hometown of Waco — perhaps a mile per pound of deep-hued Texan walnut. We lifted our ceramic snifters, handcrafted by a member of the Balcones team. This is not a brand to distill commemorative tchotchkes.
There is a sense of gravitas in the way Balcones talks about its whiskeys that belies the fact that they've been doing this for only fifteen years. "A chewy little whiskey," Elrod said at the same tasting of Cataleja, a single malt given ample sherry treatment. "Reminds me of the land we left," he then sighed wistfully, referring to Waco. I'm not sure about you, but I am fond of the tendency of modern distillers to sound as if they have married the earth on which they grow their grains. Waco was also one of the places where the recent eclipse was 100% visible.
What is Mirador Eclipse?
Mirador Eclipse is a Texas Single Malt, 55% ABV. Made from 100% malted barley, it is matured in a series of first, second, and third-fill Kentucky bourbon asks for 4-5 years. Released in May 2024, I had to wait five months to see how Waco tasted differently in the lunar shadow. Like the fleeting moment it celebrates, Mirador Eclipse is a more airy affair than you'd expect from a brand that has released a smoked whiskey called "Brimstone." While the base "Mirador" focuses on the Golden Promise malted barley, Eclipse is a bit more yeast-forward as you'll read below. The two do share the barley's rustic herbal sweetness of bergamot, especially on the nose when you first open the bottle.
Tasting Notes
The standard ale yeast has been swapped in for red wine and rosé yeasts for fleeting floral wisps that disappear off your tongue each sip. The barrel is felt even less, with the maturation spanning a blend of first, second and third-fill casks across five to six years. The result is a light, almost mead-like golden hue to my eye.
The nose, once it has breathed a bit, is a blushing and peachy marmalade rush. Candied citrus, perhaps: more like sour melon rind, old-fashioned, candy raspberries. A flirty sauterne, even.
The palate is that candy you first smelled blooming into more sugared fruit tones, but burnt sandalwood notes keep it from getting saccharine. The body is lightly toasted bread pudding with raisins — maybe a hint of madeleines, followed by a molasses crisp. It's easy to get jaded about branding, but the flavors here really do come and go like an eclipse moving in and out of totality: soft, subtle, bold, drastic, staggering, then fading into a charred wisp of smokey, jasmine memory.
A helping of ice has less effect than you might anticipate, perhaps because Eclipse is already quite subtle. I did note a new note of summertime plant sweetness once my ice sphere had spun slowly and cracked a bit — the anise-heavy smell of goldenrod in bloom.
It's a lovely little whiskey that can fit so much into a moment, although I hear that is not unlike those still few seconds under an eclipse. Despite not having made it to Waco for the eclipse, I can partake of this Waco eclipse. A limited edition, I may just have to order a bottle for 2044.