Garrison Brothers Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

N: Tons of corn sitting in tons of oak. Everything else is just a whisper behind that. Caramel, slight tropical fruit, toffee, cinnamon - okay, the cinnamon is not a whisper, actually quite loud, but also part of the oak. Mint, menthol, maybe some green rye grain. P: Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon, sweet corn, cinnamon, caramel. Maybe some sour fruit behind all that cinnamon. It's also all finish straight from the beginning - hot, hot, hot. (I think I'm repeating words because there just isn't much to say about this.) Tiny bit of bitterness at the tail end closes it out. This is really a one-trick pony and that trick is basically getting you to lick the sides of a barrel, and paying heftily for the privilege. This just drinks way too young. Add to that that this is easily the worst value in whiskey I've come across yet. There are vastly better bottles available for half of the $72 I paid for this. I still sometimes see Eagle Rare around $35. This isn't even on par with Wild Turkey 101 (~$25) and maybe not even Evan Williams BIB (~$15). To take it back to Texas, Balcones bottles in the $70-80 range have all been fantastic, and the cheaper bottles have at least been interesting, if not my personal favorites. Then there's all the Texas exceptionalism tied into the marketing language on the bottle. Generally annoying for a former Texan, like myself, who just never quite got it. But when it turns out the juice inside the bottle is actually, frankly, kind of terrible, you have to start assuming something else. Could it be that GB has intentionally made a difficult to enjoy whiskey and then marketed it in such a way as to appeal to the roughnecks in the oil fields, the wannabe cowboys from Laredo to El Paso, the guys who are ten years past their Friday Night Lights days and are now accountants or mortgage brokers - people who want and expect some pain with their whiskey, and are willing to pay for it (at least sometimes), especially when there's a Lone Star on the bottle and reminder not to leave the bottle in your truck on a hot day because it might just leave a mess. Point is, I guess, it's easier for me to see this as a marketing product rather than a substantive bottle of whiskey that adds anything to the Texas whiskey conversation. And that's even more of a disappointment because of all the good things I hear about Balmorhea and Cowboy.

𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 5, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐'𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘣. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘵 0226 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 7, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳. This is an expensive whisky, at least for me, at $80.99 for a fifth. It's a wheated bourbon with a mash bill of 74% corn, 15% wheat, and 11% barley. It's 94 proof and is three years old. In the glass it's a dark reddish brown, darker than I'd expect based on the proof. It got this bottle at Total Wine. NOSE: Smoky honey, old lumber (which sounds bad, but is actually pleasant), something floral (perhaps forsythia?), fresh chocolate cake, alfalfa hay, and graham crackers. After I began sipping the whisky a corn tortilla note also appeared. MOUTHFEEL: Viscous. TASTE: Honey, milk chocolate, a little citrus, dark chocolate, and red pepper. With good whisky I always get more on the nose than on the palate, so the disparity shouldn't cause you to believe it's not good or not complex - it is both. FINISH: Medium long, and simpler than the rest of the whisky - oak turning into dark chocolate. But I like oak that turns into chocolate, so for me this is a nice finish, its only drawback being that it's not long enough. SUMMARY: People talk about Texas whisky, but most Texas whisky that I've had imitates Kentucky, at least to some extent. This stuff doesn't - it's proud to be from Texas. It's not worth $81, but it is very good. At that price I probably won't buy it again, but if it were $60-70 I probably would. RATING: On my hick scale, which I created and which I keep because it works for me, this comes in at 7, Right Fine (with 1 being the lowest and 8 the highest). This translates to 4.375 stars, 87.5/100, or 8.75/10.

Before this, I never purchased a Garrison Brothers product. Given the price, you can get much more reputable bourbons that are safer bets. Then I see that the boot flask of this is on sale for $12.93, marked down from $45, and I figure, why not? Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I factor in cost, and I don't really trust anyone who doesn't. I'm not independently wealthy and cost has a lot to do with my decisions. And the product here? I think it can best be described as right next door to moonshine. Overly sweet and cloying, without much barrel influence at all. I believe it's a 3 year bourbon, but is that really any excuse for marketing something this putrid at a premium. This looks to be my last experience with Garrison. Given the flavor profile here and how repugnant I find it, I don't think I'd chance any of their other stuff even on clearance. I'd rather have Jim Beam White Label, which up until I tasted this, I counted as the worst whisky I've ever had. Congrats Garrison, you came along and took the crown.

An outstanding, Wheated Bourbon Whiskey by Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas crafted with a mash bill of 74% corn, 15% red winter wheat & 11% two row barley; aged for a minimum of 3 years in American white oak barrels before being bottled at 94 proof. It has an aromatic birth with notes of grain, wood, fruits, nuts, herbs & spices; while a rich & creamy life adds notes of caramel apple, yellow pound cake, orange candy, verbena, fresh cut grass & honeysuckle; while a long & hot death adds notes of lemon gum drops, sugar cookies, oak, cinnamon, orange blossom honey, coconut, walnut, molasses & saddle leather. June 2024 Story & Tasting with Master Distiller Donnis Todd

NEAT NOSE - Oranges, Honey, Maple, Sweet Oak, and Brown Sugar PALATE - It has that characteristic ‘barnyard’, grassy, hay note from all Garrison Brothers offerings. The mouthfeel is pleasant and buttery. The flavors are rich and decadent. The honey and maple are the most prominent notes on the palate. FINISH - Long finish of brown sugar and sweet oak. BUY? - Absolutely, but like many others I didn’t start off liking Garrison Brothers. I used to hate it. Now I love their very unique and characteristic flavor profile. There’s honestly nothing like it and their small batch is the perfect introduction. BUY AGAIN? - Absolutely!!!!

Thanks again to @ContemplativeFox for the taste! I’m noticing a pattern… Nose is roses, caramel, sugar. Body is orange, leather, salt. Some vanilla there. Very salty mouth feel. Finish is faint, but I get more orange. More salt. There’s something else hitting in the aftertaste… having trouble placing it. Best I can come up with is grape jelly. That’s not quite it though. It takes over and I get it on the nose now too. I actually really like it. Pepsi maybe? Really good. Giving me Jack & Coke vibes, but fancy.