Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This week is a very special episode. We toured the Garrison Brothers Distillery located in Hye, Texas, where we had the pleasure of sitting down with two of the people who help craft their incredible spirits. Our drink for the day was their Cowboy Bourbon, which is bottled at 68.5% ABV (137 proof) and retails at $199 a bottle. Listen below to hear more about this bourbon and our opinions as we try it, or you can see a quick breakdown by going to our Reviews page.
During our tasting our their Cowboy Bourbon we get to speak with the head distiller, J.D. Anderson and the “Captain of Shenanigans,” Andrea Rohus. They tell us all about the history of the Garrison Brothers Distillery and their respective roles there. We learn about the process through which they go to make their bourbon and how their bourbon differs from bourbons elsewhere due to the Texas heat. We also discuss the alcohol-industry related legislation here in Texas, regulations on distilleries, and hear J.D. and Andrea’s opinions on what could be improved. Finally, we end the interview with a quick round of 10 questions for them.
Distillery Tour
We took a tour of the distillery before sitting down for the interview. Take a look below for some pictures at Garrison Brothers Distillery.
The basic bourbon ingredients: corn, wheat, and barley 
Holding tanks for the unprocessed corn, wheat and barley 
Cook tanks where the corn, wheat and barley are added to rain water collected on the ranch 
The bourbon mash in fermentation tanks 
Dan Garrison, owner of Garrison Brothers Distillery 
Garrison Brothers very first still 
Left to right: Dan Garrison, J.D. Anderson (Head Distiller), Fred Koch (retired), Donnis Todd (Master Distiller), Rev. Jason Brand (Distillery Director) 
Bourbon barrels aging in the rickhouse 
Empty bottles ready for filling 
Filling machine and corking station 
Bottles capped and ready for wax sealing 
Bottles are topped with a deer skin wrapping and dipped in hot wax to seal them
Thanks for listening and we hope you tune in next week.
This week your hosts are Jason, Anthony, and Mike.
Music by The Passion HiFi
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