Category: Distillery News

Five San Antonio bartenders to compete for spot in Bourbon Brawl 2020

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Bourbon Brawl 2020 will take place in Austin on Thursday May 7. Photo: Garrison Brothers Distillery, used with permission.

Garrison Brothers Distillery, the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas, recently announced the semi-finalists in its Bourbon Brawl 2020 contest, a state-wide bartender competition with a grand prize of $10,000. (Garrison Brothers Distillery, 2020)

The five semi-finalists from San Antonio include:

Dan Garrison, founder and proprietor of Garrison Brothers Distillery, visited a selection of bartenders and after tasting their cocktails and listening to their stories of inspiration, Garrison offered a select few the opportunity to advance on the Bourbon Brawl Semi-finals, on the spot. Those are the Golden Ticket winners. Consumers’ Choice winners are the bartenders whose cocktails received the most votes via Garrison Brother’s voting app.

In each semi-final competition, the city’s top five bartenders and mixologists will showcase their creative and technical cocktail-making skills, vying for the opportunity to represent their home turf at the state-wide final competition in Austin and take home the prestigious title of Garrison Brothers 2020 Bourbon Brawl “Bartender of the Year.” During these events, attendees will enjoy libations while watching the bartenders compete in a three-round, Top Chef-style match-up.

In Round One, guests will sample the five best cocktails in each city and interact with the five semi-finalist bartenders. These cocktails will be crafted with love using the 2020 vintage of Garrison Brothers Small Batch Bourbon. Guests will receive one (1) wooden token at check-in to cast a vote for their favorite cocktail.

During Round Two, each bartender will take the stage to prepare and present “Native Texan Wildlife”-themed cocktails in real time. A panel of judges will score each cocktail and factor in the crowd-favorite cocktail from Round One. The two bartenders with the highest scores will advance to Round Three.

Round Three is a mystery ingredient challenge. In this round, the city’s top two bartenders will go head to head to create the best cocktail using secret ingredients from a veiled box. Sampled and scored by the judges, one bartender will be announced as the winner of this semi-final event and will advance to the Finals to compete for the prestigious title of Garrison Brothers 2020 Bourbon Brawl “Bartender of the Year.”

Tickets for each semi-final event are $30. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go to Good Bourbon for a Good Cause, a 501(c)3 public charity founded by the Garrison Family and their staff in 2018.

Dates, time, and locations for each event are below. The Garrison Brothers team highly encourages attendees to use local ride-sharing services, ensuring a safe ride home for everyone. Lyft codes are provided for $5 off each ride for up to 200 rides at each event.

Houston
Thursday, March 26 | 6:30p.m. – 10p.m.
The Houston Event Venue | 3118 Harrisburg Blvd | Houston, TX 77003
Tickets | Lyft code BB2020HOUSTON

San Antonio
Thursday, April 2 | 6:30p.m. – 10p.m.
The Arcadian at Sunset Station | 1174 E Commerce St. | San Antonio, TX 78205
Tickets | Lyft code BB2020SA

Dallas
Thursday, April 9 | 6:30p.m. – 10p.m.
The Empire Room | 1225 N Riverfront Blvd | Dallas, TX 75207
Tickets | Lyft code BB2020DAL

Fort Worth
Thursday, April 16 | 6:30p.m. – 10p.m.
The Ostreum | 108 South Fwy Ste. 130 | Fort Worth, TX 76104
Tickets | Lyft code BB2020FW

Austin
Thursday, April 23  | 6:30p.m. – 10p.m.
Springdale Station | 979 Springdale Rd. Ste 160 | Austin, TX 78702
Tickets | Lyft code BB2020AUS

FINALS (Austin)
Thursday, May 7 | 6:30p.m. – 10p.m.
Fair Market | 1100 E 5th Street | Austin, TX 78702
Tickets | Lyft code BOURBONBRAWL2020

Qualifying contestants must have participated in Garrison Brothers’ Bourbon Takeover of Texas, two weeks during which 75+ distinguished bars and restaurants across Texas featured cocktails incorporating the 2020 vintage of Garrison Brothers Small Batch Bourbon. From February 17 – February 28, the Garrison Brothers team visited every participating location to taste, critique, examine and enjoy the creations, considering each for potential advancement to the next round of the competition. However, the cocktails themselves were not the sole criteria for advancement; the bartender’s attitude, charm, camaraderie with customers and concern for the well-being of their community were also factors under consideration.

Rambler Sparkling Water expanding across Texas

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Founded in Austin, Rambler Sparkling Water is expanding across Texas. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Born in Austin and sourced in Texas, Rambler Sparkling Water is committed to locally and sustainably sourced drinking water, purified through their unique Texas Limestone Filtration process. This process gives the water a distinctively crisp taste and profile unique to the state and the people who drink it. Thoughtfully crafted for the health-conscious drinker, Rambler is a one-of-a-kind Texas gem. The company, which was founded in 2018, partners with Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation. Rambler is made in Austin, Texas and is available throughout the state at HEBs, Central Market, Whole Foods, and other bars, restaurants and retailers. (Rambler, 2019)

Rambler rivals popular sparkling water brands like Topo Chico with its unique filtration process, mineral composition, its commitment to giving back to Texas Parks & Wildlife, and their production: they are a local, sustainable sparkling water made in Austin. Rambler’s fresh taste makes it a great option for non-alcohol drinkers, a versatile mixer for cocktails, and a refreshing complement to any meal, especially in the heat of summer.

Founders James Moody, Jeff Trucksess and Dave Mead come from a variety of backgrounds and extensive experiences, ranging from business and entrepreneurial work to branding and advertising. Each has a passion for the outdoors, the wilds of Texas and the Austin community. The brand is uniquely produced at the Austin Beerworks (ABW) brewery: when the brewery is not making beer, they make Rambler.

Independence Brewing Co. releases beer to spark voter engagement

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Independence Brewing Co. released Freak Power, a new blood orange hefeweizen to kick off the voter registration period in Texas. Photo: Julia Keim, used with permission. 

Ahead of its fifteenth anniversary, Independence Brewing Co. announced the release of Freak Power, a new blood orange hefeweizen named in honor of Hunter S. Thompson’s groundbreaking campaign for sheriff of Aspen in 1970. The beer debuts just in time to kick off the voter registration period for Texas residents ahead of state elections in 2019 and national elections in 2020. Just as Thompson created the “Freak Power Party” to inspire fellow “freaks” to vote, Independence Brewing aims to inspire the inner freak in everyone to participate in our democracy. (Independence Brewing Co., 2019)

Freak Power is part of Independence Brewing’s upcoming initiative to help spread political awareness and civic engagement among eligible voters in markets where their beer is sold. As part of the Freak Power rollout, team members will be deputized as volunteer voter registrars for Travis County and the South Austin brewery will host voter registration drives ahead of Texas state elections on November 5, 2019. In addition to the brewery’s efforts in Austin, Independence Brewing’s sales representatives throughout the state will organize promotional events at local bars and retailers and assist on-site voter registration.

The recipe for Freak Power is a twist on the classic Bavarian hefeweizen, balancing the sweet clove esters with the citrusy tang of blood orange. The result is a hef that starts like a traditional German wheat beer and ends with a crisp finish that does not linger too long on the palate. It pairs best with light, starchy, and lemony foods, and at 5.4% ABV, Freak Power is an ideal candidate to engage and mobilize voters of all stripes, without clouding their judgment. As far as the taste is concerned, Head Brewer Brannon Radicke states – “The tanginess of the citrus cuts a little bit of that sweetness and dries out the finish. Plus, the fruitiness of the blood oranges pairs nicely with the style’s signature clove and banana esters.”

The seasonal brew is available through September at the taproom and at local retailers throughout Texas. The can will be easy to spot since the bright pink and orange graphics against a matte-black backdrop will make this beer a standout on store shelves.

“The design decisions for Freak Power are inspired by ideas and aesthetics tied to the free thinkers and radical minds of the late 60s,” said designer Lauren Dickens. “The color palette and energetic rays behind the illustration are a nod to the burst of blood orange flavor in the beer.”

“Now, more than ever, we need to encourage each other to speak up and enact change. The 2020 election is a critical moment for our nation and will set the political agenda for the coming years. With Freak Power, we sought to create something that ignites enthusiasm the way Hunter S. Thompson did back in 1970.” – Amy Cartwright, President and Co-Founder of Independence Brewing Co.

Garrison Brothers Distillery releases award-winning bourbon

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Garrison Brothers Distillery re-released their award-winning Balmorhea bourbon this week. Photo: Adam Voorheas and Robin Finlay, used with permission. 

Garrison Brothers Distillery, the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas, announced today the second release of their multi-award-winning twice-barreled bourbon and will celebrate with a party at their distillery in Hye, Texas on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Dubbed the Balmorhea Social, the daytime party will feature armadillo races, distillery tours, bourbon flights, bites by Chef Joseph Moreno and live music by Micah Wagner. Distillery gates will open at 10a.m. and the festivities will last until 5:30p.m. (Garrison Brothers Distillery, 2019)

Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible named Garrison Brothers Balmorhea Twice-Barreled Bourbon “American Micro Whiskey of the Year” for 2019. The Garrison Brothers team will celebrate this accolade by releasing the bourbon in a larger format bottle at the party. One lucky attendee will win the chance to join Master Distiller Donnis Todd as he tastes his way through the Garrison Brother’s rick house to find the perfect barrels for the 2020 release of Balmorhea. 55 barrels went into making the 2019 release. One special bottle will be labeled with “#55” and placed on gift shop shelves. The patron who purchases it will win barrel selection rights for the following year. Bourbon lovers are encouraged to keep an eye on Garrison Brother’s Instagram page for teasers and more info.

504 bottles of Balmorhea Twice Barreled Bourbon will be available at the distillery in Hye, Texas, for $139.99 beginning May 4. The remaining 5,496 bottles will be distributed to select liquor stores, bars, and restaurants throughout Texas and the other 26 states and military bases where Garrison Brothers is sold. Bottles will be available for purchase nation-wide the week of May 13.

Balmorhea is named after the majestic West Texas swimming hole and is the only twice-barreled bourbon in the Garrison Brothers family. That means it is aged three years in new American white oak barrels made from wood grown in the Ozarks, then the liquid is transferred to a second new American white oak barrel made from trees grown in Minnesota and aged for another two years. The prized liquid is bottled at 57.5% alc/vol or 115 proof and comes from a sweet mash bill, like all of Garrison Brothers’ releases. Master Distiller Donnis Todd describes Balmorhea as “bourbon candy, frozen fudgesicle bars, amaretto coffee with cream, sticky buns and pecan brittle. Thick white chocolate syrup.”

In January 2019, Dan Garrison, founder and proprietor of Garrison Brothers Distillery, presented the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation with a $30,000 donation from Good Bourbon for a Good Cause, a 501(c)(3) public charity formed by Garrison and his employees. The funds were earmarked for the restoration, preservation and beautification of Balmorhea State Park, which shuttered due to structural damage in May 2018. Garrison Brothers stepped in to host a series of fundraising pool parties and pledged to donate a portion of Balmorhea Bourbon’s sales to repair the shuttered pool. On March 1, 2019, Balmorhea State Park reopened just in time for swimming season.

Garrison Brothers Distillery
1827 Hye Albert Rd.
Hye, TX 78635
(830) 392-0246