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January 27 Waco, TX — Pioneering craft whisky makers at Balcones Distilling have earned a new set of awards for their acclaimed whiskies. Last week, London's Wizards of Whisky named the distillery's celebrated Texas Single Malt the World Whisky of the Year in 2014, as well as the World Single Malt of the Year and the American Single Malt of the Year. Balcones Single Malt and Baby Blue also earned Gold medals, while True Blue and Brimstone were honored with Silver medals.
The Wizards of Whisky Awards World Whisky Awards are organized by Dominic Roskrow, a 22-year veteran of drinks journalism who has published six books and written or edited for many notable publications. This year's Wizards winners were proclaimed after three separate judging events that included as many as 12 judges each. Balcones Texas Single Malt was named World Single Malt of the Year ahead of other celebrated brands such as Kavalan and The English Whisky Company. In 2012 Balcones also received considerable commendation from Wizards of Whisky, being named US Craft Distiller of the Year and receiving two Gold medals and two Silver medals.
Chip Tate, President and Head Distiller of Balcones, commented on the distillery's new accolades: "In truth, we're a little taken aback. To have taken not only the Best American Single Malt, but World Single Malt of the Year and even World Whisky of the Year in the overall competition is almost too much to take in. We're very pleased."
To date, Balcones has received nearly 100 accolades from national and international competitions, judged by countless respected industry experts. Texas Single Malt, the most celebrated of Balcones' portfolio, has received over two-dozen awards since its release in 2011, including Best in Show �Brown Spirits at the 2011 New York World Wine & Spirits.
The new wins for Balcones come just as the distillery has completed upgrades in its existing facilities to triple production capacity. Chip Tate and his crew built two wash stills and two new spirit stills from scratch by welding, shaping and hammering sheet copper over three months. The growing distillery also plans to build an entirely new facility inside the 100-year-old Texas Fireproof Storage Building in downtown Waco by 2015, which will expand production several fold yet again.
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