Ampersand

Chip Tate founded Balcones in Waco, Texas, in 2008 and built his name there on unusual grain recipes. He joined Foley Family Wines in January 2024, and Ampersand is that work, bottled at Minden Mill in Nevada.

A finished whiskey only borrows the other spirit's cask. Tate blends the spirit itself into the bottle. Malus is 51% eight-year rye and 49% Calvados, apple brandy by the half. Vinea is 75% eight-year straight rye with 25% grain spirit held over nine years in Cognac casks. Opimus takes the older route, 15-year Kentucky bourbon finished in Tokaji casks at 117 proof. Buy Ampersand to taste what blending does that finishing alone cannot.