While I am definitely a wine gal, I like to keep my bar stocked with gins and bourbons – my go-to spirits when I am craving a martini, Negroni or Boulevardier. Just like with wine, I like to have some Texas options to enjoy and share with friends.
I turned to Matt McGinnis, my friend and owner of Big Thirst Marketing, to get the low-down on the size of the Texas spirits industry. Texas is #3 for the most distilleries with 173 in the state and contributes nearly $2 billion in economic growth. The top five states – California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Washington – make up nearly a third of craft distillers in the United States.
Here are a few Texas bourbons to add to your bar!
Milam & Greene Whiskey Distillery Edition Bourbon, Batch Four
Milam & Greene Whiskey in Blanco has released its fourth annual grain-to-glass bourbon, Distillery Edition Bourbon Batch Four Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It is pot-distilled by master distiller Marlene Holmes in a 300-gallon copper still, is non-chill filtered, and bottled at cask strength of 117.7 proof. What sets Batch Four apart is the impact of the Texan terroir on the barrels as they age for four years with the final months of aging in 2023 influenced by an ice storm, hail and a tornado warning. It has luscious flavors of maple syrup, toffee, pecan praline and baking spices. It retails for $120 and is available only at the Milam & Greene Whiskey distillery while supplies last.
Samuel Maverick Private Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Maverick Distilling recently released its limited-edition Samuel Maverick Private Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which is distilled in small batches using select Texas-grown corn, rye and barley and aged on-site in the vaults below the distillery in the historic Lockwood National Bank building located steps from the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Samuel Maverick Private Reserve has notes of clover-scented honey, Lockhart roasted Hill Country pecans, vanilla and caramel. Samuel Maverick Private Reserve Straight Bourbon is available for $75 at Maverick Distilling in San Antonio, Texas and in select retail stores. Maverick Distilling spirits are available for purchase online on the Maverick Distilling website, shipping to people nationwide.
Bending Branch 1840 and ChickenDuck
Bending Branch Winery CEO Dr. Bob Young and President Alison Young have brought some of their Kentucky Bourbon Country heritage to Comfort. The Bending Branch 1840 brand features premium Kentucky straight bourbon and high rye bourbon whiskeys, aged for a minimum of four years in new American charred oak barrels that Alison and Dr. Bob have sourced over the last two years for additional aging and bottling in Texas. The first two 1840 Bourbons offered from Bending Branch are a premium high rye bourbon with notes of orangesicle, crème brûlée and caramel and a four-grain bourbon that tastes of decadent vanilla buttercream. At $95, the Bending Branch 1840 is available at Bending Branch and soon in Texas retail stores.
Named after the original chickens and ducks that roamed the vineyard, the ChickenDuck bourbons use an advanced extraction technology that gives them the qualities of bourbons that are aged for multiple years. The first ChickenDuck bourbon releases are a high rye bourbon with brown sugar, baking spices, molasses and cracked pepper notes and a wheated bourbon with cedar chest, vanilla, caramelized sugar and buttery toffee notes. Both ChickenDuck bourbons retail for $42 and are available at Bending Branch and soon in Texas retail stores.
Denise Clarke is an avid wine enthusiast who loves sharing and teaching people about wine. She is a Certified Wine Educator, Certified Sommelier, WSET Advanced graduate and an expert on Texas wine. Owner of Denise Clarke PR, she currently represents Texas Fine Wine and the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Wine Marketing Program. She has lived in Austin for more than 30 years and when she is not swirling and sipping wine, she can be found on her bike, climbing every hill she can find.
Follow Denise on IG at @deniseclarkeTX for more wine recommendations.
