The first thing you are told when you step onto the Garrison Brothers property is to watch your step because this place is built by rednecks drunk on Bourbon. If that’s the case, these intoxicated rednecks certainly know what they are doing. The folks at Garrison Brothers are masters of their craft who have created a delicious family of bourbons and an inviting distillery property that is an absolute delight to tour and enjoy.

Located in the little town of Hye, Texas, Garrison Brothers is about an hour and a half drive outside of Austin – not exactly close, but most definitely worth the drive. As you pull up on the property, you are treated to majestic views of the Texas Hill Country, complete with big blue skies and a set of newly built but rustic-styled ranch buildings. The property immediately draws you in with a friendly Texas Vibe.

Friendly volunteers at the front table welcome visitors and will check you in for a bourbon tasting, a distillery tour, or simply enjoy a cocktail with friends on one of the many open porches.

Tours cost $10 a person (or $20 on Saturday) and are hilarious, educational, and worth every penny. If you are the frugal type, saddle up! Garrison Brothers offers free tours to anyone who shows up on a horse.

The Whiskey Shack

You can kick off your experience by stopping by the Whiskey Shack for a taste of bourbon or a delicious cocktail to sip and enjoy the view. Next, tour guides will round everyone up and load you onto their hayless hayride wagons – a nice wooden bench is a welcome upgrade from scratchy hay bales! Our tour guide had us laughing from the moment he ran down the tour rules and laid out the plan for the afternoon. And then we were off – driving across the sprawling 68-acre property, passing multiple enormous industrial buildings that all embodied the rustic Texas vibe of the distillery. We also passed numerous wells that Garrison Brothers use to harvest well water on site to embrace the unique flavor and characteristics the Texas limestone brings to their bourbon.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, we all hopped off the wagon and gathered on the porch to learn a little bit about the history of the bourbon and the distillery.

3 Fun Facts about Bourbon

1. You can only call the spirit Bourbon if it is made in the United states – everywhere else it must be referred to as Whiskey.
2. Bourbon is made from just three ingredients:
   – #1 food-grade corn
   – soft red winter wheat from local farms
   – two-row barley
3. If you add anything else to bourbon, it becomes whiskey

A Little History of Garrison Brothers

Dan Garrison, the bourbon pioneer and visionary behind the brand, had a fascinating journey to create today’s delicious bourbon and rich distillery community.

After the Enron scandal bankrupted his company, Dan Garrison pivoted from the software industry and decided his true calling was in the world of craft spirits. Dan and his wife Nancy traveled to Kentucky, where Dan spent years studying and learning everything he could about the distilling process. Many master distillers appreciated Dan’s sharp mind and eagerness to learn. One in particular, Elmer T. Lee, took Dan under his wing and taught him all the ingredients and processes required to make top-quality bourbon. Dan soaked it up like a sponge, and eventually, Elmer sold Dan his first still, the Copper Cowgirl, who still resides in the Still House in Hye, Texas.

In 2005, Dan took all his newfound knowledge back to Texas to start his own distillery. Many naysayers told him the harsh heat and limestone in the groundwater would ruin his chances of ever making a good bourbon. But Dan was convinced he could embrace these conditions and create something truly magnificent. And he was right.

Texas proved to be great for Bourbon production. The limestone in Texas soil lends a distinctive flavor. The Texas heat helps the bourbon age in the barrel faster – resulting in a rich, delicious bourbon in just a few short years. The only problem with barrel aging in the Texas heat is a higher rate of evaporation in which you lose a percentage of the bourbon known as the Angels share. In Kentucky, the angel’s share is 3-6%, but in Texas, it’s around 15% – so Dan always says we have drunk angels in Texas! It doesn’t matter because they make some damn fine bourbon with a deep and distinctive flavor.

Into The Cook House

After learning and laughing, everyone enters the Cook House, filled with bubbling cauldrons and stainless steel tanks and smells like warm yeast rolls. Here, the mash made from corn, barley, and wheat are mixed with rainwater harvested right on site then fermented to create the “beer”. Volunteers from the distillery offered everyone a chance to sample a tiny shot of the fermented mash that actually tastes like cold oatmeal.

The Still house

The next stop for the fermented mash is the Still House. Visitors line the upper balcony filled with Garrison Brothers memorabilia and peer over the wooden rail to listen to the tour guides describe the distilling process and creation of the many Garrison Brothers Bourbon Varieties.

The fermented mash is distilled at least twice, once in a column still and then in heated copper pots, and like everything on the property, they all have their own names. Dan Garrison’s Original still, the Copper Cowgirl, sits in a place of honor on the Still House floor. Her newer big brothers, 500-gallon copper pots named “Fat Man” and “Little Boy,” and the latest member of the family, 2,000-gallon “Big Johnson,” are hard at work, heating the bourbon to a boiling point. The vapors are captured and recondensed into liquid as they cool, concentrating the alcohol level – producing the White Dog – a clear distilled spirit with a big bite. After a small taste of the unaged whiskey, it’s abundantly clear why the next step – barrel aging – is essential to creating a smooth and delicious-tasting bourbon.

The Barrel House

Then, the distilled spirits are barreled in new charred white oak barrels (each barrel is only used once) and in different ways to create new bourbons. This is where the color develops from the toasted barrels, and the various flavors develop from the different types of wood used, the time in the barrels, and even the different heat conditions based on the location each barrel is stored in the barn. Every Garrison Brothers bourbon bottle is labeled with its batch barrel number, and because each barrel is only used once, if you find a batch you love, take note of the batch number and buy more immediately!! Numerous enormous Barrel Houses throughout the property are filled with endless rows of barrels working their magic.

Party Central

The bottling process is truly one big party – all done by the hands of volunteers. The only automated piece is Rosie – who does indeed look like her namesake from The Jetsons, who fills the bottles to millimeter precision. Volunteers inspect the bottles for floaters, attach labels, scribe batch numbers, wind leather pigtails around the bottleneck, dip the tops neatly in black wax, and then stamp them with a glorious Texas Star.

Anyone can sign up to volunteer through the Garrison Brothers website – each month, over 20,000 people sign up, and Garrison Brothers will randomly select far more than they need. And the day of the bottling, it’s best to show up early because it’s first come, first serve to help – and this one party you do not want to miss!!

The Rick House

Then it’s to the tasting room where the Garrison Brothers team teaches you how to drink bourbon properly – it’s truly an art form. You learn to smell the bourbon with your mouth and can taste it before ever taking a sip. They teach you how to gently chew the bourbon on the top of your tongue to take down the spirit fire and let you truly taste the soft notes of the bourbon. Your second sip of the process is even better. Garrison Brothers celebrates and honors all those who help our community, so the final act in the tasting room was a gracious toast to those who fought for our country, those who serve in law enforcement, and the doctors and nurses who keep us in good health and the teachers on the front line of tomorrow. There is a massive deck on the back side of the Rick House to enjoy the views with the rest of your bourbon – and then it’s back to the Whiskey Shack, where more bourbon, cocktails, and snacks await. You can hang out as long as you desire, sipping on the multiple porches, diving into a reserve tasting, or shopping to take a bottle or some branded merchandise home.

Creations

The best place to buy Garrison Brothers is at the distillery – they have an extensive menu of favorites and special releases available for you to take home. However, it’s not always practical to pop out to Hye – so they’ve made a few available through various outlets.

Where to Buy

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SMALL BATCH:

Dark rich bourbon blended from barrels aged at least three years

Order Small Batch here:

Single Barrel:

Each barrel is unique and is aged at least three years.

Order Single Barrel here:

Balmorhea:

Smooth and complex, like a sunset over Balmorhea State Park, this 115-proof bourbon spends four years in new American White Oak and then is transferred to a second new barrel and aged a bonus year. Think honey, vanilla, and a touch of Texas pecan.

Order Balmorhea here

HoneyDew:

A sweet and sassy bourbon created for Dan’s wife. Barrel pieces soaked in Texas wildflower honey are cut up and placed in the barrel during the four-year aging process – giving the bourbon extra flavor without adding extra ingredients. It’s like a summer breeze in a bottle.

Order HoneyDew here:

Lady Bird:

The luxe cousin of HoneyDew starts as a honey-flavored single-batch bourbon and then ages for an additional three years in French Cognac XO Casks that give it a complex cognac flavor mixed with sweet honey notes.

Order Lady Bird here:

The Cowboy:

Their signature bourbon is created by mixing oak-distilled bourbon from different barrels to create a bold and spicy flavor with notes of caramel, oak, and a hint of Texas mesquite.

Order The Cowboy here:

Guadalupe:

Rich, creamy, complex, and decadent enough to be considered a dessert bourbon, Guadalupe bourbon is aged for four years in toasted and charred white American oak barrels and then an additional two years in post casks imported from Portugal.

Order Guadalupe here:

Take the Trip!

Whether you are there for the tour or simply the bourbon and the views, the trek to Hye is always worth it! Garrison Brothers not only make delicious bourbon that embraces and highlights the natural resources of our great state of Texas, their process embraces and celebrates the community.