Garrison Brothers Distillery is located in Hye, Texas which is about an hour drive west of Austin, Texas. The distillery was founded in 2005, making them the first and oldest whiskey distillery in Texas. The distillery was founded by Dan Garrison, who had left a position in software marketing to follow his dream. With help from friends, family, and the late Dave Pickerell, Garrison Brothers Distillery overcame challenges specific to Texas. This includes aging whiskey in the state’s dry heat, which tends to draw the whiskey out of the barrels much faster than usual, resulting in a lot lost to leaky barrels and evaporation. Distillery operations are headed by Master Distiller Donnis Todd, and according to the company’s website the distillery is owned by the Garrison family and a few friends. Their first bourbon, called “Young Gun,” was released in 2010, which, according to the company, was the first whiskey ever legally made in Texas.

‍‍Lady Bird is one of many barrel finished whiskeys that the company produces each year, with the 2024 release being the second edition produced. According to the company, “Lady Bird, Texas honey-infused cognac finished bourbon, starts its life as Small Batch that is aged for 4 years in new white American oak barrels before being infused with Burleson's Texas Wildflower Honey for an additional 8-9 months, creating the exquisite cask strength HoneyDew. The bourbon is then transferred into French Cognac XO casks to mature for an additional 3 years.” The bottles come with a packet of wildflower seeds, and for every bottle of Lady Bird sold, $5 will be donated to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

‍‍The bottle in review is number 2423.

The whiskey opens with rich scents that tell you you’re about to experience something that you don’t encounter in a whiskey every day. Starting with the nose, there is no denying the influence of the Cognac barrel finishing and blended in honey, as the whiskey displays rich and inviting scents, which commence with brown sugar, raisin, wildflower honey, and molasses. Charred oak and slighter scents of stone fruit and vanilla add further depth. The only flaw is a very thin layer of ethanol that seems out of place, but it should also be expected, considering Lady Bird’s 114 proof. Overall, this is a fantastic aroma that can best be described as rich and gets you excited for what’s to come next.

The palate doubles down on the honey influence but also nicely blends in notes of charred oak, vanilla, and fresh baked bread. Baking spice, brown sugar, and raisin layer in a nice aged note, while faint stone fruit and a sharp pink peppercorn spice add a touch of intrigue. The midpoint brings with it a silky mouthfeel that leaves your mouth coated in deliciously rich flavors. In a word, excellent.

The finish starts with a rush of baking and green peppercorn spices, which is quickly followed by a contrasting balance of charred oak and leather against spiced honey and brown sugar. Powdered vanilla adds a dab of sweetness, while a touch of raisin adds an additional dry note. It’s a delicate balance between dry and sweet flavors with a lingering heat that hangs on for an incredibly long time.

Often multiple styles of whiskey are combined to create something new. Sometimes the results are great while other times it’s a clear miss, and there are many in the middle that are good but not particularly memorable. In the case of Lady Bird, Garrison Brothers has been able to produce a unique and nicely integrated whiskey that plays off the strengths of each of its components.

It starts with Garrison Brothers' base small batch bourbon. For those who haven’t had a Texas whiskey before, the unique aging conditions, mainly due to the intense heat that the state experiences, produce a unique style of whiskey. Usually, it doesn’t take as long to age a whiskey in Texas compared to most other states to start producing an intensely flavorful sip.

Honey-finished bourbons have slowly gained popularity over the years. Companies like Nelson's Green Brier Distillery, New Holland Spirits, Starlight Distillery, and even Brown-Forman have all tried their hand at honey-finished whiskeys. Where Garrison Brothers adds their own unique flair to the mix is by infusing their small batch bourbon with honey partway through the aging process. While directly adding a flavor additive to a whiskey isn’t uncommon, adding it during the aging process versus after the whiskey is dumped from the barrels is.

Finally, you have the Cognac finishing component. Again, a common style of finishing barrel, even for Texas whiskey, this isn’t an overly unique feature. What does stand out in Lady Bird’s case is the fact that the brand finished the honey-infused whiskey for 3 full years in ex-Cognac barrels. This extended finishing time isn’t as common, as often you run the risk of the finishing barrel overpowering the base whiskey.

Merging these components together results not in a Frankenstein concoction but, in this case, one of the most flavorful bourbons brought to market in 2024. Yes, technically, this is classified as a Whiskey Specialty product due to the fact that the honey was blended in versus a honey barrel finish being used. However, don’t let that take away from the fact that the pour produced by Lady Bird is incredibly well integrated, producing a flavor profile that highlights the best of its unique components and actually allows each one to elevate the other. Simply put, when it comes to a finished whiskey product, Lady Bird is one of the most unique whiskeys I’ve come across this year.

Limited edition products continue to push the envelope when it comes to what price point should be considered acceptable to consumers. Sure, Buffalo Trace tends to keep their Buffalo Trace Antique Collection priced artificially low, but for the most part, it’s becoming more and more common for limited release whiskeys to be in the $150-$200 range or, lately, even higher. Considering all of the various components that Lady Bird consists of, along with the actual amount of time the product was aged and finished, its MSRP isn’t out of place. Add in the fact that the resulting sip is incredibly well integrated, and it's one of the most unique finished whiskey products you’ll most likely see in 2024. Even at its higher price point, it’s one of the better values you’ll find for a limited release.

Garrison Brothers Lady Bird is worlds away from the company’s standard Small Batch Bourbon. While the base whiskey provides the foundation, the time the whiskey spent mingling with wildflower honey and the extended time it spent aging in Cognac XO casks are prominent throughout the sip. Yes, the honey is blended in versus being aged in a used honey barrel, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that this whiskey delivers everything you’d want out of a finished whiskey. Its rich sip doesn’t stray too far in any one direction, and it still displays prominent base bourbon components. Lady Bird is a home run for Garrison Brothers, and while the price may be perceived as high for some, consumers of barrel finished whiskeys, let alone Texas barrel finished whiskeys, are in for a massive treat.