A Night with Charlie Garrison

We were so excited when Charlie Garrison of Garrison Brothers Distillery said he would be our next guest in The Bounty Hunter Distiller Series. Garrison Brothers is the first bourbon distillery to come out of Texas, and boy is it a good one! The night was filled with stories, laughter, and of course a lot of bourbon sippin’. 

Our guests started out by grabbing our Bounty Hunter Texas Tea, a special concoction we made with the 2015 Garrison Brothers bourbon,(see recipe below) a refreshing if not spicy way to start  mingling amongst ourselves. Our chefs prepared small bites including pimento cheese, pork sliders, and mini sausages. Barbecue with bourbon? Never can go wrong there! 

Once everyone had settled in and had their cocktail, it was time to get down to business. We started with the 2015 Garrison Brother Texas Bourbon. Like wine, bourbon has a specific way to smell and taste correctly. Charlie explained to smell a bourbon correctly, to get all the aromas that it has to offer, you must put your nose in the glass and breathe in very deeply through your mouth. This allows you to smell the bourbon rather than the alcohol. Now comes the tasting, you first want to warm up your palette by putting a little of the bourbon in your mouth and letting it sit there for a few seconds. After that, your palette will be relaxed and ready to taste.

As the bourbon was being sipped Charlie started talking about some of the basic fundamentals of Bourbon and the history as well. Here are some interesting facts that we learned:

The ABC’s of Bourbon

A: Bourbon is uniquely American

B: Must be aged in a brand new white American oak barrel

C: Must be a minimum of 51% corn

D: Must be distilled at no more than 160 proof/80% alcohol

E: Must be entered into barrel at no more than 125 proof

F: Must be bottled at no less than 80 proof

G: Must be genuine, nothing added to it but water

As the night went on another bottle of bourbon was passed around. This time it was the Garrison Brothers Bounty Hunter Barrel Selection, which our Spirits Buyer bought exclusively for us. This one was definitely the favorite among the guests, and many ended up buying bottles at the end of the evening.

Before the night ended, Charlie explained how he and his brother got into the bourbon business, and it all started with Charlie’s sister in law saying “With as much bourbon you guys drink, you should be making it.” Right then and there the Garrison Brothers Distillery started. A couple years later in early 2006 the Garrison’s got their distiller permit and officially became the first bourbon distillery built outside of Kentucky and Tennessee since prohibition. They also were the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas and the first organic grain distillery ever.

The night was a huge success and we thank Garrison Brothers for coming to good ol’ California and sharing their journey with us.

If you would like to purchase a bottle of Garrison Brothers click here.

Want to make your own Bounty Hunter Texas Tea? Here’s how:

Bounty Hunter Texas Tea

2 parts 2015 Garrison Brothers bourbon

1 part lime juice

Black pepper

Fresh chopped Texas Tarragon, steeped in the bourbon

Top off with ice and ginger beer