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Do you like garrison bros? I've never been impressed. It always came across as them marketing the texas roots (a low shelf premium) at a high premium price.

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+1

I finally tried some this weekend & thought it was pretty bad. It should be a $25 bottle, so I'm shocked they can actually get $70 for it.

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Got a case of the Handy Sazerac.

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I bought a bottle of the cheaper Sazerac ($30) yesterday, and I'm anxious to try it. The online reviews for it were great.

Cracked my THH last night. I was pretty blown away. Absolutely delicious. Better than the George Stagg from 2009.

Agreed THH is tasty. However, I think it's impossible to compare a Rye to a wheated. Not really a fair comparison. You'd be better off comparing the THh to a Sazerac antique and the Stagg to a bottle of PVW or WLW.

They lie. If it was as good, it wouldn't be there either. I'd never believe a thing that person says ever again.

Arent you in CO proud? If so, the Costco in eagle has pappy still.

[This message has been edited by Vanwinkle23 (edited 1/9/2012 5:54p).]

^
Ever tried the Weller Antique? The description at the liquor store said "similar taste profile to Van Winkle bourbons", and it was like $25.

[This message has been edited by proudaggie02 (edited 1/9/2012 5:44p).]

Spec's in Dallas has the 90/107 proof Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year old. They're rationing them out pretty sparingly. I saw 'em Friday, and they're still there today. Good prices.

Thanks Showtime! Only 2 bottles left.

I still have a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23 for trade.


franklinpappy23 @ neo.tamu.edu

I was selected to bottle again in February for Garrison. Anyone from here joining me?

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Arent you in CO proud? If so, the Costco in eagle has pappy still.

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Thanks for the heads up. I called Costco today, and the manager told me they always get a ton of Van Winkle. He said they get it around Thanksgiving & don't sell out until Christmas or early January. And their prices are really good: $83 for the 20, and $48 for the $15.

I am planning on making a trip there around THanksgiving.

I will be in Hye that weekend as well.

got the call from Garrison, but I'm in Chicago on bidness then.

I had some garrison. Its cool but not 73 bucks cool. Now, you age it some? Well, then we are talking.

Got to bottle at Garrison Brothers this week. It was a fun time again. They will be selling in Houston area Spec's for the first time starting on Texas Independence Day.

[This message has been edited by Atty_Ag (edited 2/10/2012 3:43p).]

When they price a low grade premium like a low grade premium, it'll be worth it. Until it's priced around $25 then the price dots the product.

There are no bad whiskeys. Some whiskeys are better than others.

If you want to trash the product, take it somewhere else. Personally, I find pappy 23 too sweet for my tastes, but I don't feel the need to insult it. It is what it is.

If by trash the product you mean give an honest assessment then call it what you want.

Next: "There are no bad whiskeys. Some whiskeys are better than others."

That's just plain facepalm.

You have a relationship with these people. We understand that but it doesn't make the product any less of a let down. People want to build it up because it's from Texas. Again, I understand that too, but let's put the Texas pride away and realize that an overpriced Texas spirit is no better than an overpriced non texan spirit.

What's facepalm is that I even need to look the quote up, since I botched it so badly.

“There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren't as good as others.”
― Raymond Chandler

Whatever you want to drink is fine by me. I'm simply helping out a friend who is doing something notable and worthwhile.

Just thought I would throw this out there as the Garrison Brothers "discussion" is heating up...

My dad and uncle both bottled Wednesday and Thursday of last week. They both had a great time and told me the work was hard but well worth it. Anyway... throughout the bottling there were many "quality tests". The first day they were given last years Bourbon during these checks. My dad (and uncle) said the Bourbon was decent, but certainly not worth the 70 - 80 bucks or so...

Fast forward to the second day... The "quality check" moved to this years bottling. My dad said the difference was night and day. He said it was absolutely tremendous and would certainly buy a bottle had he not been given one. The owner told them the Bourbon would be much like a wine... the 2011 would be far different from the 2012 and so on.

So... in summary, hold your judgement of Garrison Brothers until you try this years batch. I'm not saying go out and buy a bottle, but at least give it a shot somewhere and decide for yourself if you should buy a bottle or not.

Not a bourbon, but the wife just gave me my Valentine's Day gift - a bottle of Bushmills 1608 Irish Whiskey. She wanted to give it to me today so I could enjoy it more over the weekend. I can confirm this stuff is great.

[This message has been edited by Mattvswild (edited 2/11/2012 6:47p).]

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The owner told them the Bourbon would be much like a wine... the 2011 would be far different from the 2012 and so on.

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Um, why?

If they can get a repeatable process down, the differences between years should be relatively small. Differences due to slight variations in fermentation make since, but it shouldn't be like the difference between wine vintages.

bourbon cake truffles (balls) are really yummy

Just picked up my first bottle of Garrison Bros.

I usually drink scotch and I'm by no means a whiskey aficionado.

I am enjoying this immensely.

My gf couldn't figure out what beer I wanted so she brought home a bottle of Garrison. Yeah, I think that'll work.

Here is the new Garrison newsletter/blog post about the spring 2012 release.

http://blog.garrisonbros.com/2012/02/22/texas-bourbon-news-the-spring-2012-release/

Specifically, this release is different here:

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Prepare for something a little different with the Spring 2012 release. There is a noticeable change from our previous bourbons in this beautiful brown liquor. First off, this is the first bourbon we’ve made exclusively using organic #1 gourmet grade white corn from the Texas Panhandle. All previous releases have been organic yellow dent corn. Additionally, this bourbon was made primarily with organic soft red winter wheat we harvested from our farm in 2009.
The bourbon was distilled and entered into barrels that same year and has been under careful watch in our barrel barns for almost three years. Every drop was distilled by me, Donnis, Fred or JD on The Copper Cowgirl. Every barrel used in this release was custom-made for Garrison Brothers.

As always will be the case with Garrison Brothers’ bourbons, it is not chill-filtered. Doing so is an unforgiveable sin, because it removes the fatty acids from the grain and the wood, which are an important aspect of the flavor. As a result, if you leave this bourbon sitting for a long time, especially in a cold area, you may eventually see cloudiness and solids resting in the bottom of the bottle. Connoisseurs, who know great bourbons like George T. Stagg, will recognize that this is to be expected from an authentic bourbon whiskey, made the way bourbon was made – before the technology and marketing geeks brought us chill-filtration. If it clouds up, just shake it, pour and enjoy responsibly.

The result is pretty damn special. This one has a smoky butterscotch and maple syrup nose, caramelized brown sugar sweetness on the tongue, and unlike the Fall 2011 Release, a crisp and delicate finish. Our distillery director Donnis Todd says it reminds him of toasted marshmallows. I get that, but I’m reminded of the buttery cinnamon toast my mom used to make for breakfast when we were kids. She used real butter.

We selected 134 barrels from our barns for this release. The brutally hot summers these past two years took their toll and the Angel’s certainly got their Share. The release is small by liquor industry standards at just 7,026 bottles. As always, I signed and numbered every bottle. As is our custom, we skipped bottle #666, so one case will have two #665s.

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I think the Spring Release blows the fall 2011 out of the water. And I was thoroughly impressed with last fall's release.

I recommend, if one can manage, finding a bottle numbered between 2250 and 3750.



[This message has been edited by showtime (edited 2/23/2012 1:21p).]

How was your bottling experience, showtime? Did you enjoy it? This was out third round.

"Connoisseurs, who know great bourbons like George T. Stagg, will recognize that this is to be expected from an authentic bourbon whiskey, made the way bourbon was made – before the technology and marketing geeks brought us chill-filtration."

Wow, they really have a high opinion of themselves. To bad the 2011 tasted like watered down moose piss and they "new" 2012 is MAYBE as good as a $40-50 premium. Its alot better than the 2011, but that isnt saying much.

Any comparison at all to GTS is wishful thinking.

Id grade the 2011 a C- to C (72-75)

Id grade the 2012 a B to a low B+ (83-87)


As a comparison, Id put pappy van winkle 15 at around a 90-91 and Green Spot around a 92-93.

They still have a LONG way to go before GTS and Garrison Bros can be uttered in the same breath.

[This message has been edited by AgChrisMasters (edited 2/23/2012 6:01p).]

To be fair, I think Dan was limiting the Stagg comparison solely to the context of the unfiltered sediment. He has a great product on his hands, but he is realistic, and I think he knows he is not at the Stagg level. Yet.

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How was your bottling experience, showtime? Did you enjoy it? This was out third round.

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It was amazing. Arrived a little late and lucked out in that we both scored spots toward the end of the table where we were able to chat with Dan all day for both days. He is a student of the craft, and I admire his dedication to it and his respect for it. Really wish it weren't so imprudent at this point (financially) and I would join the Old 300.

Yes, agreed about Dan. He is definitely doing this the right way, slowly. Most of the people I've talked to about him realize that he's got a winner on his hands, given the time and resources to see it through.

Putting him or his product down undercuts the tremendous work the man has put into this. I hope he gets rich doing it because he's doing what he loves.

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Ithink he knows he is not at the Stagg level. Yet.

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Unless I misread the label when I tried it, he'll never get close to Stagg.

This thread is definitely making me jealous to try some of these Texas bourbons. Up in Philly, my favorite for regional stuff I've found is Hudson Baby Bourbon, from NY- tried some first at a bar in Manhattan and loved it- very simple, but extremely smooth and surprisingly tasty and complex considering the age.

For more "everyday" I adore Booker's because of the spicy but flavorful quality.

"Ya gotta love livin', baby, 'cause dyin's a PAIN IN THE ASS!" -Frank Sinatra

Just picked up a bottle of 20 y-o Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve, $125.00 plus tax. They had the 23 y-o but I couldn't justify dropping $300.00 for 3 more years. Will try it tonight.

Where?