MAKING MEANINGTHROUGH WHISKY
In 2008, Texas was not known for whisky. There was no blueprint for how to make it here. No one to follow, no path in place. As a team of makers motivated by curiosity and intentionality, we decided to wander into the world of distilling in our home state. We took inspiration from our surroundings and set out to make something meaningful. Now, a vision that started in an old welding shop under a bridge in Waco has transformed into an award-winning distillery.
ANSWERING OUR CALL
At the center of who we are, we exist to grow and explore. That means committing ourselves to continuously improving our processes across fermentation, distillation, maturation and beyond. It all started with our Baby Blue Straight Corn Whisky, which put a sophisticated spin on the tradition of corn whisky by using roasted blue corn for a richer, more nuanced flavor.
Since then, we've helped establish the category of American Single Malt Whisky by expanding our collection of one-of-a-kind American Single Malt Whiskies. Our journey into American Single Malts started with Texas 1, the first single malt ever released in Texas, and has grown with our Lineage Texas Single Malt, among many other special releases created at our distillery.
OUR STORY
Hover to explore Balcones history
2008
Balcones Distilling
Founded
We started making whisky under a bridge in an old welding shop in Waco, Texas. We made this place completely our own, shoehorning our way into the 2,000-square-foot building where each and every one of our processes took place.
2009
The first Texas
Whisky
We released our first whisky, Baby Blue, which was the first Texas whisky sold post-Prohibition. Made with Texas-grown and roasted blue corn, the rich and oily maize adds new sophistication to the corn whisky tradition yet brings forth the freshness and verve of classic American distilling.
Discover Baby Blue
2011
The first Texas
Single Malt
Texas 1 was the first single malt released by Balcones and the first single malt ever released in Texas. We may not have known it at the time, but we now realize that this whisky is what inspired us to not only grow but define the American Single Malt category.
Discover Texas 1
2015
A MOVE TO THE TEXAS FIREPROOF
storage building
In 2013, we finally outgrew the welding shop. We desperately needed more room for barrel maturation, so we acquired the building we’re distilling in now. In 2015, we began outfitting this space to expand to full production capacity. We continued to distill at our old location before completely moving our operations to the fireproof building in 2016.
2016
American Single Malt
Whiskey Commission
Founded
One of our founding members and Head Distiller, Jared Himstedt, helped establish the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission. The goal of the commission is to set a standard for this emerging class of American whiskies.
Learn More
2019
Texas Whiskey
Trail Founded
To help whisky lovers experience Certified Texas Whiskeys, we supported the development of the Texas Whiskey Trail. Each distillery on the trail starts with grain, then mashes, ferments, distills, matures and bottles their whisky within the state of Texas.
Visit the trail
2020
Lineage texas Single
Malt released
Our goal with this whisky was not only to expand our own single malt portfolio but to do something completely different within the category. Lineage celebrates both the old and the new, marrying malting and maturation processes found in both Scottish single malt tradition and American whisky innovation to create an unmistakably Texan flavor.
Discover Lineage
2024
ANNIVERSARY & AWARDS
We celebrated our 15th anniversary, won Craft Producer of the year by Icons of Whisky and, for the second year in a row, American Single Malt Distillery of the Year at the New York International Spirits Competition. Every win provides further inspiration to innovate what Texas whisky can and should be.
VIEW AWARDS
2025
ratification of
american single malt
As of January 19th, 2025, American Single Malt Whisky is considered an official whisky category, after nearly a decade of dedication by the American Single Malt Whiskey Commission. But our work is just getting started; our goal is to continue to explore what we can create and add plenty more milestones to this timeline along the way.
LEARN MORE
WHY AMERICAN SINGLE MALT?
In short, we fell in love with the style of American Single Malt Whisky. At the time, the category was a blank slate, which sparked our creative spirit and inspired us to see where this journey would lead. We saw an opportunity to honor the medium of single malt whisky, formed long ago, while unlocking the potential provided to us by this multifaceted region.
Along the way, we've created fruit-driven, inventive American Single Malt Whiskies while helping lead and define the American Single Malt movement. We're eager to continue tapping into the unlimited possibilities of this category alongside our fellow makers, rising the tide for all in the years to come.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Balcones exists to make whisky, in a specific way that speaks to us. We are helping discover what American whisky can and should be with intention and relentless curiosity. We want every step of the process to be meaningful, including sourcing raw materials, hand-selecting the casks to partner with our uncompromising climate, clearing ourselves and our work of distractions and continually exploring the limits of what this place wants to make. All these efforts lead back to our aspiration to be present in all that we do.
THE TEAM
JaredHimstedt
Head Distiller
JaredHimstedt
Head Distiller
For Jared Himstedt, the craft of making whisky is a relational journey of discovery. Getting to know one's place and one's work are parts of a feedback loop through which we get to know ourselves. It's an ongoing, dynamic conversation with purpose, meaning and growth.
Jared's path wandered through social work, ceramic arts, punk bands, bicycle repair and home brewing before arriving at distillation. In the early days of Balcones, he did a bit of everything—fabricating equipment, designing labels, making cuts at the stills, driving innovation concepts and blending expressions. These days, his role is a mix of long-term planning and blending, all while keeping the company's creative and existential goals moving forward to “make it meaningful.”
Outside whisky-making, Jared enjoys time outdoors in the woods and building and riding bikes, in addition to making pots, sewing, playing music and spending meaningful time with blood family and chosen family. Wherever the day takes him, he's always glad to find time for deep reflection around a fire with a neat pour of any Balcones single malt in hand.
GabrielRicharde
Blending Manager
GabrielRicharde
Blending Manager
Gabriel RiCharde's path to whisky blending began at a dry private Christian college, where he first honed his home-brewing skills. From this unlikely starting point, his passion for the richness and history of the American whisky tradition grew during his graduate studies in geology at the University of Kentucky. After a stint working as a geologist overseas, home distilling on apartment stoves in Spain and Germany, he relocated to join the Balcones production team in Waco, Texas.
As Blending Manager, Gabriel oversees the maturation and blending life cycle of Balcones' whiskies, paying close attention to quality and flavor to ensure our long-term goals for maturing our whisky are achievable. As a key member of the distillery's in-house Creative Team, he drives the production side of R & D and innovation efforts. In Gabriel's view, the caretaking of Balcones whisky is a task to be done neither lightly, callously or overly quantitatively, but as a holistic vocation made sacred by attention to, and with care for, detail.
Outside work, Gabriel enjoys running, rock climbing, tenkara fly-fishing, gardening, grilling, reading and writing poetry, writing music, visiting family in North Carolina, reading to his daughter, Willa, and sipping domestic natural wine with his wife, Natalie. He believes Balcones' best whisky has yet to be made, though if he had to pick a favorite, he'd go with Lineage in a highball.
AlexElrod
Brand Experience Manager
AlexElrod
Brand Experience Manager
Alex Elrod brings a deep passion for creativity and a decade of expertise in the whisky industry to his role at Balcones. As Brand Experience Manager, he helps curate the ways in which Balcones' whiskies are met, perceived and enjoyed. As part of the internal Creative Team, Alex works alongside the Blending, Marketing and Sales teams to help cast the vision and ethos of Balcones.
Alex shares his life, and his passions of camping, fishing and traveling, with his wife, Laura; his son, Amon; his daughter, Bonnie; and his Airedale Terrier, Rory. While he enjoys the wide range of Balcones whiskies, he tends to reach for Lineage for its Texas malted barley, or a neat pour of Cask Strength Single Malt Single Barrel for its density and chewiness.
EmmaCrandall
Blender
EmmaCrandall
Blender
Emma Crandall joined the whisky industry in 2017, taking classes at the Whisky Marketing School and hosting educational whisky tastings for private parties. In 2018, she became the Distillery Manager for a craft distillery in Austin, Texas, working in a variety of roles, from bartending in the tasting room and running a bottling line to managing the warehouse and distilling. This is where her journey into the art of blending began.
Having discovered her passion for blending, Emma began collaborating with the Balcones team to sharpen her skills while working in Austin. When a blender position opened at the distillery, it was a natural fit. She joined the Balcones team in 2021 and has been mastering her craft and palate here ever since, helping create numerous award-winning spirits within the Balcones portfolio.
For Emma, blending is an art form first and foremost. She enjoys working with creative, kind people and making whiskies that create memories and stories for the people who consume them. Her favorite core whisky to blend (and drink) is Lineage because of the level of complexity that goes into developing its layered flavor profile and sensory experience.
When not at Balcones, Emma enjoys reading, writing, traveling, spending time outside and bonding with her cat, Angel.
JaredHimstedt
Head Distiller
JaredHimstedt
Head Distiller
For Jared Himstedt, the craft of making whisky is a relational journey of discovery. Getting to know one's place and one's work are parts of a feedback loop through which we get to know ourselves. It's an ongoing, dynamic conversation with purpose, meaning and growth.
Jared's path wandered through social work, ceramic arts, punk bands, bicycle repair and home brewing before arriving at distillation. In the early days of Balcones, he did a bit of everything—fabricating equipment, designing labels, making cuts at the stills, driving innovation concepts and blending expressions. These days, his role is a mix of long-term planning and blending, all while keeping the company's creative and existential goals moving forward to “make it meaningful.”
Outside whisky-making, Jared enjoys time outdoors in the woods and building and riding bikes, in addition to making pots, sewing, playing music and spending meaningful time with blood family and chosen family. Wherever the day takes him, he's always glad to find time for deep reflection around a fire with a neat pour of any Balcones single malt in hand.
GabrielRicharde
Blending Manager
GabrielRicharde
Blending Manager
Gabriel RiCharde's path to whisky blending began at a dry private Christian college, where he first honed his home-brewing skills. From this unlikely starting point, his passion for the richness and history of the American whisky tradition grew during his graduate studies in geology at the University of Kentucky. After a stint working as a geologist overseas, home distilling on apartment stoves in Spain and Germany, he relocated to join the Balcones production team in Waco, Texas.
As Blending Manager, Gabriel oversees the maturation and blending life cycle of Balcones' whiskies, paying close attention to quality and flavor to ensure our long-term goals for maturing our whisky are achievable. As a key member of the distillery's in-house Creative Team, he drives the production side of R & D and innovation efforts. In Gabriel's view, the caretaking of Balcones whisky is a task to be done neither lightly, callously or overly quantitatively, but as a holistic vocation made sacred by attention to, and with care for, detail.
Outside work, Gabriel enjoys running, rock climbing, tenkara fly-fishing, gardening, grilling, reading and writing poetry, writing music, visiting family in North Carolina, reading to his daughter, Willa, and sipping domestic natural wine with his wife, Natalie. He believes Balcones' best whisky has yet to be made, though if he had to pick a favorite, he'd go with Lineage in a highball.
AlexElrod
Brand Experience Manager
AlexElrod
Brand Experience Manager
Alex Elrod brings a deep passion for creativity and a decade of expertise in the whisky industry to his role at Balcones. As Brand Experience Manager, he helps curate the ways in which Balcones' whiskies are met, perceived and enjoyed. As part of the internal Creative Team, Alex works alongside the Blending, Marketing and Sales teams to help cast the vision and ethos of Balcones.
Alex shares his life, and his passions of camping, fishing and traveling, with his wife, Laura; his son, Amon; his daughter, Bonnie; and his Airedale Terrier, Rory. While he enjoys the wide range of Balcones whiskies, he tends to reach for Lineage for its Texas malted barley, or a neat pour of Cask Strength Single Malt Single Barrel for its density and chewiness.
EmmaCrandall
Blender
EmmaCrandall
Blender
Emma Crandall joined the whisky industry in 2017, taking classes at the Whisky Marketing School and hosting educational whisky tastings for private parties. In 2018, she became the Distillery Manager for a craft distillery in Austin, Texas, working in a variety of roles, from bartending in the tasting room and running a bottling line to managing the warehouse and distilling. This is where her journey into the art of blending began.
Having discovered her passion for blending, Emma began collaborating with the Balcones team to sharpen her skills while working in Austin. When a blender position opened at the distillery, it was a natural fit. She joined the Balcones team in 2021 and has been mastering her craft and palate here ever since, helping create numerous award-winning spirits within the Balcones portfolio.
For Emma, blending is an art form first and foremost. She enjoys working with creative, kind people and making whiskies that create memories and stories for the people who consume them. Her favorite core whisky to blend (and drink) is Lineage because of the level of complexity that goes into developing its layered flavor profile and sensory experience.
When not at Balcones, Emma enjoys reading, writing, traveling, spending time outside and bonding with her cat, Angel.