We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jared Himstedt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jared below.
Jared , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
Q: How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process?
My whisky journey began with homebrewing beer. I started brewing a few batches of beer yearly after receiving a homebrew kit as a wedding gift in 1999. I joined a local homebrew club, where we met monthly to share our creations and learn from one another. Engaging with a community of diverse backgrounds and techniques helped broaden my understanding of the homebrewing craft and the variety of ways each person’s personality, interests, and strengths inform how they approach the process.
I think approaching any medium with training and experience in another medium is positive. A formal visual arts background focusing on ceramics helped me approach whisky-making with that lens. Getting caught up in industry-specific vocabulary and ways of thinking about the work is easy, but approaching whisky with composition in mind helps us get out of potential and predictable ruts. Ceramics taught me how to get to know a material’s characteristics and personality. Sometimes, it seems the clay wants to be handled a certain way, and it can become a conversation between the maker and the medium. It helps erode the idea of an inert raw material and that the final work is to the maker’s credit. It’s an inherently communal process; we approach whisky in that spirit.
We are all self-taught here at Balcones in the sense that none of us has worked in distilling previously. We researched as much as possible and picked the brains of some of our heroes and living legends in the business. The whisky community, in particular, is an inclusive and collaborative bunch overall, and we have found from the beginning that asking questions and seeking advice was always welcome and reciprocated. While I gained knowledge organically over time, connecting with mentors with invaluable insights helped me avoid some trial-and-error moments and validated that some of the questions we were asking hadn’t been answered before. We received a lot of encouragement to get creative and engage with the place where we make and learn from it by listening well. Ultimately, blending practical experience with community engagement, including the place as a part of that community, has shaped my journey in distilling.
Q: What skills do you think were most essential?
My drawing teacher used to say that he wasn’t teaching us to draw; he was teaching us to see. It is hard to communicate something visually when your awareness and sensitivity to what you are looking at and creating are anemic and underdeveloped. I learned early on that my state of perception and presence are as crucial to the work as any technical skill I apply to the craft.
Other essential skills are a deep sense of curiosity and the courage to embrace mistakes. Don’t arrogantly forge ahead; honor the questions that nag at you and trust them as signposts trying to get your attention. At Balcones, we take an informed experimental approach, constantly testing boundaries and learning from failures, which allows us to grow, refine our craft, and create genuinely innovative whiskies.
Lastly, you have to be really paying attention. The work will constantly give you feedback about what is working, who you are, and how you are showing up. Much like close relationships, the work becomes a mirror that can tell you things about yourself you were unaware of as it resists you or when there is harmony and cohesion.
Q: What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
As with any pioneering brand, one of the main obstacles was the steep and sometimes painful learning curve as Balcones grew, especially for a team of makers who were not traditional business people. We’ve learned to use this to our advantage – with each challenge we face, we embrace our distilling team’s backgrounds in art, music, and writing and use this creativity to evolve and adapt our whisky-making approach.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Q: For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry/business / discipline/craft etc,
My name is Jared Himstedt, and I serve as the Head Distiller at Balcones Distilling. Since the distillery’s inception, I have overseen everything from label design to barrel selection. Balcones was born as a passion project, and this passion remains true today.
Q: What type of products/services/creative works you provide,
As the creators of the original Texas whisky (with the first post-prohibition release in 2009), our distilling team at Balcones is helping shape a new landscape for whisky by blending centuries of distilling tradition with Texas’ terrain and volatile climate.
The distillery is forged on a fault line where two opposing land masses meet, and that matters to create the expansive whiskies that only the rhythms of Texas can make.
Born from the free-thinking originality and character of our home in Waco, Texas, our whiskies embody the spirit of the people who craft them and the place they’re from. We have a unique portfolio of award-winning whiskies, including Baby Blue, our original corn whisky, American Single Malts: Texas 1 Single Malt and Lineage, and limited edition expressions Mirador Eclipse and Cataleja.
We are known for our American Single Malts, and it’s been incredibly exciting to have a leading role as this category quickly grows in popularity, with many distilleries around the country creating their own expressions.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
At Balcones, we see whisky as an art form, a delicate balance of science and soulful expression. Our creative journey is driven by a mission to change the perception of where great whisky can come from and where it can go. Rather than adhering to a rigid process or set methodology, we embrace a spirit of constant exploration and learning, treating each whisky as an opportunity to evolve. There is no “finish line” in sight – we continue to invite the creative possibilities that come from our experiences, and we hope our whiskies inspire drinkers to change their perspective on American whisky. I will feel I succeeded if, at the end of my part in this journey, I have helped nurture our whiskies closer to their true selves and hopefully been fully myself in the process.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The spirits industry is very cyclical and constantly changing. At many points, we have had unexpected market changes catch us off guard. I think it helped teach me a manner of acceptance and flexibility. We have to be open to learning from what is and hold the work’s specifics loosely. That ongoing conversation keeps changing, and we have to learn to listen well, pay attention, and be present if our part of the conversation will be meaningful and embodied in the larger context.
We realized that even the most experienced figures in the industry didn’t always have all the answers. This led to a significant shift in our mindset. We learned that distilling is a journey of constant learning and discovery. It taught us the importance of self-reflection and following our curiosity, even when it led to challenges. By connecting deeply with the spirit of Texas and the uniqueness of our environment, we discovered that immense value often lies in unexpected places. This insight fueled our drive to keep experimenting, pushing boundaries, and creating products that reflect who we are and where we are from.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.balconesdistilling.com/
- Instagram: @balconesdistilling
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BalconesDistilling
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/balcones-distilling-llc/
- Twitter: https://x.com/BalconesWhisky?prefetchTimestamp=1733838358880