American Malted Whisky: Best Dram In The World Says UK Blind Tasting

[Juanote]

Anybody here have any experience with this stuff?
 
To my surprise American Malted Whisky (scotch-style or scotch-influenced) exists, and as I have not been able to uncover a discussion of it here, I felt it needed its own topic.
 
I had no idea that an American single malt whisky was judged the best dram in the world last year, based on a blind taste testing in the UK. Check out this article.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/dining/american-malted-whiskeys-win-acclaim.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0]American Single-Malt Whiskeys Serve Notice[/url]

THE humid streets of Waco, Tex., may not have much in common with the misty glens of Scotland, home to some of the world’s best malt whiskeys.
 
Not much, that is, until last month, when a single-malt whiskey from the Balcones Distillery in Waco bested nine others, including storied Scottish names like the Balvenie and the Macallan, in a blind panel of British spirits experts.
 
It was the first time an American whiskey won the Best in Glass, a five-year-old competition to find the best whiskey released in a given year.
 
Balcones, said Neil Ridley, one of the organizers, is everything you’d expect from a young American: brash, robust and full of flavor. “It was like putting a New World wine against an Old World chateau,” he said.

 
As the rave reviews are pouring in, I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on some of this stuff before it becomes unavailable. I haven't searched all the sources yet, but here is the award winner:
 
http://www.astorwines.com/SearchResultsSingle.aspx?p=2&search=26757&searchtype=Contains]Balcones Texas Single Malt Whisky[/url]

 

[BigBear]

Interesting article, thanks for sharing.

 

[Joebunaga]

I totally missed out on this stuff. Saw it on the shelves, now the shelves are empty. They were selling for about $55 here. I might make some calls tomorrow.