Texas craft distillery Garrison Brothers just announced the summer launch of its new Ranch Reserve Series, a duo of whiskeys finished in two types of sherry casks: Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez. Not only that, but the distillery had some good news to report in what is indisputably a soft whiskey market, noting that its sales have outpaced the growth of similarly priced brands in the state and nationally.
Garrison Brothers, which is located in Hye, Texas, about an hour outside of Austin, is the oldest legal whiskey distillery in the state. It was founded in 2006 by Dan and Nancy Garrison, and released its first bourbon four years later. This is an assertive bourbon that tastes very different from what you might find in Kentucky due to the climate the whiskey is aged in, with a strong oak presence and deep, dark color picked up while it matures in the dry Texas heat. Also, the distillery uses a range of different barrel sizes to mature its whiskey, so the smaller casks accelerate the aging process as there is more surface area for the whiskey and wood to interact.
The distillery’s portfolio is anchored by a few different wheated bourbons, as well as a newer bottled-in-bond expression and the hazmat-level Cowboy Bourbon. But there are many different cask finishes in the lineup as well, including Laguna Madre (finished in French oak), Guadalupe (finished in port casks), and Lady Bird (finished in Cognac barrels). The new Ranch Reserve Series continues that tradition, with the whiskey getting lengthy finishes that can really be called secondary maturations.
