The news is spreading like wildfire
around Texas that the Garrison Brothers Distillery makes some of the finest
sipping straight bourbon in the United States. I always heard that Kentucky
made the finest sipping bourbon, so to find out for ourselves whether or not
this Texas claim was true, Suzanne and I decided to pay them a visit. As always, I entrusted Suzanne to set up a
visit to the distillery while I brushed up on my knowledge of bourbon.
It seems that only distilled
spirits made from at least 51% corn and produced in the United States can be
called bourbon. Other U.S. standards include:
must be aged in new barrels only; must be distilled to no more than 160 proof
(80 % alcohol per volume); and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. Straight
bourbon must be aged a minimum of two years and cannot include any additional
coloring, flavoring or other spirits. With all this new found knowledge in hand
and a thirst for some Texas made straight bourbon, I couldn’t wait for our
trip!
Suzanne confirmed our visit to the
distillery in Hye, Texas for high noon on a Friday. Our trip was set. Rain or
shine, this was one trip I didn’t want to miss.
I know what you’re thinking, “Where in the heck is Hye, Texas?” Hye is a
small town just west of Austin between Johnson City and Fredericksburg on US
290 in the Hill Country area of Texas.
As we journeyed to the distillery,
the ominous clouds which had threatened rain all morning opened up and the rain
began to fall. I knew we needed any rain
we could get to alleviate the drought conditions in Texas, but did it have to
rain on my parade? I wondered if I was snake-bit. The closer we got to the
distillery, the more it rained. Always a trooper, Suzanne barely flinched at
the thought of sloshing through the muddy grounds of the distillery. Straining to
see though rain, we caught a glimpse of the Garrison Brothers Distillery sign
and pulled into the drive. At first glance the entrance appeared to be just
like that of an ordinary cattle ranch, but the humorous No Smoking sign was a
clear indication of the fun ahead.
A short distance up the drive we
found the designated meeting area, a small visitors building. Suzanne and I
made a fast dash in the rain to the porch. The rustic split cedar building
provided us cover. There were drinks and food to snack on while we waited for
our host. An outside fire pit and surrounding cedar wood chairs quietly
beckoned Mother Nature to stop the rain. Soon, our host arrived to greet us
along with the other two slightly soggy couples waiting for the tour. Instead
of riding in an open wagon to the distillery as was the typical beginning of
the tour on drier days, she asked us to follow her by car. Eagerly we all jumped into our vehicles and
like a wagon train from an old western movie, we headed up to the distillery
single-file.
Once we reached our destination,
our host rounded us up like a small lost herd of cows and led us to the grain
hopper room. Here we learned about the definition of straight bourbon and the
impeccable quality of the ingredients that go into their mash. After answering
all our questions about the corn, wheat and barley, our host led us to the
fermenting room. In the fermenting room, the master of the fermentation process
(aka Master of the Mash) explained each step in making the fermented beer that
is then sent to the distillation tower. After a short question and answer
session, we left that building and proceeded to the distillation building.
Climbing up a stairway to a large
platform overlooking the distillation kettles, we observed the main
distillation area. The operations manager addressed us and explained both the
design of the equipment and the elements of the distillation process. We were allowed the unique opportunity to
taste the “white dog” (pure 160 proof alcohol) from the stills. After
directions on how to sip the “white dog”, we all grabbed one of the little cups
and very carefully sipped the clear liquid. We learned about the importance
of the barreling of the bourbon and length of aging,then it was on to the bottling
room.
As we stood in the bottle cleaning
and filling area, we listened to the bottling manager explain the actual
packaging process. The distillery blends and bottles their bourbon only twice a
year. Today, as luck would have it, they were bottling product. Because the
distillery has only a very small permanent staff, they use volunteers to help
with the bottling as it is quite a production. Suzanne and other guests were
given the opportunity to dip the filled bottles in wax as part of the packaging
process. What a treat to help out!
After this fun opportunity, we were
ushered to the tasting room in an adjacent building. This was the part I enjoyed the most; the
tasting of the finished product! By putting tiny amounts of bourbon in your
mouth and squishing it about, you could taste the various flavors imparted by
the bourbon. The flavor was exquisite! The deal was closed. We purchased a
bottle to take home … for medicinal purposes, of course.
This is a tour you will really
enjoy. For us, the weather was uncooperative but the employees were friendly,
informative and happy. You can sense their pride and enjoyment of their craft.
For them to allow us to share a little time out of their work day and learn about
the making of Texas bourbon was fantastic!
The Garrison Brothers Distillery is
located at 1827 Hye Albert Road.
Reservations and a small fee are required for the tour, but I assure you
that it’s well worth the extra effort. I hope you get a chance to visit the distillery
and try their products as we have while traveling Texas Thru My Back Door!
