Around 3,000 barrels of the distillery's Ghost Hill bourbon are resting here, standing on wooden pallets and stored vertically. In the distillery's 5,000-square-foot metal storage building, there is no climate control in place-just big bay doors on either end of the warehouse. But Todd believes the potential for just how long Texas whiskeys can age remains to be explored, and Garrison Brothers recently climbed the age ladder with the release of an 8 year old bourbon.Īt Treaty Oak Distilling, a Hill Country distillery located 20 miles west of Austin, palletizing barrels has proven effective in mitigating intense heat. At 47% alcohol by volume (ABV), Small Batch packs a heated punch, and its dark amber color foreshadows the rich aromas that follow on the nose. Each barrel size does have a dedicated sweet spot, and at a certain point you'll start getting a negative return.”įor Garrison Brothers, the maturation sweet spot for its flagship Small Batch bourbon is about 3 years, though the blend does contain some older whiskey. “We had to figure out how to reel in the liquid and determine its profile and sweet spot. “It took me about a decade to really understand how different the liquid in the barrel can taste because of how much we lose to the angels' share,” he notes. Head distiller Donnis Todd has been there since the early days, and says the learning curve was steep. Founded in 2006, Garrison Brothers launched its first whiskey in 2010. In the town of Hye, nestled in Hill Country, Garrison Brothers Distillery contends with such temperature shifts every day. Moreover, the temperature swings from day to night can vary by as much as 50 degrees. Leaning Into the Heatīecause of that intense heat, maturation times in Texas are far shorter than elsewhere. Overall, it's safe to say Texas is making whiskey as spiritedly as it does everything else. Experimentation with mashbills, barrel sizes, and finishes is vibrant across the state. But one constant everywhere is heat-the coolest parts of the state are still far more scorching than nearly any other whiskey-producing region in America.īeyond the climate factors, sheer creativity and a mindset for the big and the bold-the Texan way-are at the forefront of this exploding whiskey scene. Desert land stretches for miles in the west, while the eastern terrain features piney forests and swamps. By the northern borders, you'll find cooler temperatures, more rainfall, and grassy plains. In the southern reaches of Texas, sweltering humidity creates tropical conditions all year, thanks to proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. In Texas Hill Country west of Austin, dense forests, wildflower fields, and sparkling blue lakes see extreme temperature swings-daily averages can vary from 42☏ to 95☏ over the course of a year. Roughly the same size as France, it has a landscape that's nearly as varied. Yet even as a newcomer, Texas is rapidly building its whiskey credentials as distilleries become firmly rooted across the state, creating a colorful patchwork of styles and flavors.Ī key part of the picture in Texas is its multifaceted climate. The ties to whiskey are not deep, as distilling arrived here just over 15 years ago. But there's much more to the Lone Star State, including a dynamic whiskey scene. Worn leather cowboy boots, cream-colored Stetson hats, and wide-open desert space dappled with cacti-these are visions of Texas in the mind's eye.
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