Strong ethanol | Cinnamon powder | Cocoa | Fresh paper pulp | Cereal grain | Sawdust | Bold

Aged tannic oak | Raisins | Cinnamon syrup | Cinnamon powder | Rye spice | Leather | Flavor cuts through the proof

Leather | Dry oak | Light syrup | Rye spice | Incredibly dry

Garrison Brothers Distillery is located in Hye, Texas which is about an hour’s drive west of Austin, Texas. The distillery was founded in 2005, making them the first and oldest whiskey distillery in Texas. According to the company’s press release, “The release comes from what Master Distiller Donnis Todd calls his “piggy bank” of barrels that are just too flavorful on first taste to bottle. He patiently saves and collects these specific barrels as he finds them during his daily, monthly, and yearly taste tests, if he deems them of having Cowboy Bourbon potential. Years later, he takes these barrels out of the already incredibly harsh Texas climate in which they are aging and puts them to the ultimate test: more Texas heat.”

The first thing you notice about Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon 2023 is its color. While not quite opaque, this bourbon is eye-catching in terms of just how dark it is when you pour it into a glass. The sip starts with a blast of ethanol billowing from the glass, which is to be expected for its proof. Wade farther past this though, and you’ll find bold notes of cinnamon and cocoa powder along with oddly placed paper pulp and sawdust notes. The midpoint brings about a surprising amount of flavor, considering some bourbons at this proof can get overpowered with ethanol. Instead, the sip delivers raisins resting on cinnamon syrup and cinnamon powder along with drier notes of leather and aged tannic oak. It’s these drier notes that provide a preview to the finish, which veers almost completely away from sweet notes, instead focusing completely on leather and dry oak.

Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon 2023 is really good, and not just for the fact that it’s a Texas bourbon coming in at a whopping 140.8 proof bourbon. This is a bourbon that is plain good and will have people who haven’t tried Texas whiskey before wondering why they’ve waited this long to do so. Its dry finish ultimately holds it back from competing toe to toe with the likes of this year's George T. Stagg, but it comes close. Close enough that fans of high-proof bourbons will want to seek out one of the 9,600 bottles made available for this release.