Balcones Distilling sits in a converted welding shop in downtown Waco, where founder Chip Tate started making whisky in 2008 with equipment he built himself. Tate, a former semiconductor engineer turned furniture maker, taught himself distillation and metalworking to create his vision of Texas whisky. The operation began in a 3,000-square-foot space with a custom-built pot still system that Tate designed and fabricated, producing everything from single malt whisky to blue corn bourbon. The distillery’s journey hasn’t been smooth sailing. Tate left in 2014 after disputes with investors, but head distiller Jared Himstedt stepped up to continue the whisky-making legacy. Himstedt, who joined in 2011 and learned under Tate, maintained the hands-on approach and innovative spirit that put Balcones on the map. They’ve since expanded the facility and production capacity while keeping the artisanal focus that made them pioneers in the Texas whisky movement. Today you’ll find a working distillery where the smell of fermenting grain hits you as soon as you walk in. The space still feels industrial but purposeful, with copper stills gleaming under warehouse lighting and barrels stacked in climate-controlled areas. They’re making single malt whisky, bourbon, and rye using Texas-grown grains when possible, aging everything in the intense Texas heat that accelerates maturation. It’s serious whisky-making in an unpretentious setting.