Hill Country bourbon maker Garrison Brothers is rolling out a new premium whiskey collection. It'll comprise two limited-edition releases finished in Spanish sherry casks and packaged in redesigned leather-accented bottles.
The new Ranch Reserve Series will debut June 27 with two inaugural expressions: a PX Sherry Cask Finished bourbon and an Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished bourbon. Both begin as Texas Straight Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey and are then aged four years in new American oak barrels. Next, they spend an additional four years in imported sherry casks from Spain.
The bottles will retail for $149.99 each, with about 6,000 bottles produced per release. The PX Sherry Cask Finished bourbon carries notes of toffee, caramel, figs, and candied fruit, according to the distillery, while the Oloroso version leans more savory with walnut and baking spice flavors. The PX expression is bottled at 109 proof, while the Oloroso release clocks in at 110 proof.
"These two releases share the same Texas bourbon backbone and deliver two different sherry traditions," master distiller Donnis Todd said in a statement. "One dark and decadent and the other, savory and structured."
The launch also introduces a new bottle design for the distillery, featuring a leather band around the neck and walnut-colored wax dipping intended to emphasize the Ranch Reserve branding.
Founder Dan Garrison helped launch Texas’ modern bourbon movement after opening Garrison Brothers in the Hill Country community of Hye in 2006.Photo courtesy of Garrison Brothers Distillery
Dan Garrison, who founded Garrison Brothers with his wife Nancy, knows all about branding. Both University of Texas graduates, Dan initially worked in Austin at GSD&M and jumped to a tech start-up in the mid-1990s that was taken down in the Enron debacle, according to the distillery's documentary, Cowboy Bourbon - The Full Proof Tale of Garrison Brothers Bourbon.
Garrison, who struggled to find a job but managed to found the Town Lake Trail Foundation in his spare time, was miffed to read that Austin had four vodka distilleries for colorless, tasteless liquor, but no interest in the lost art of Kentucky whiskey.
Garrison Brothers became the pioneer in the Texas bourbon movement, opening in 2006 in the tiny community of Hye, an unincorporated community in the Hill Country between Johnson City and Fredricksburg on Highway 290. The distillery's first branded bourbon was released in 2010. Today, Garrison Brothers is now distributed in all 50 states and several international markets, while the distillery draws tens of thousands of visitors annually to its ranch in Hye.
Central Texas has evolved into one of the country's fastest-growing craft whiskey regions over the last decade, with distilleries across Austin, Dripping Springs, Blanco, and Waco drawing national attention for Texas-made bourbon, rye, and single malt whiskey. The growth has helped transform the Hill Country from primarily a wine tourism destination into a broader spirits hub anchored by distilleries, tasting rooms, and whiskey-focused events.
The master distiller at Garrison Brothers is Donnis Todd, who learned the basics of the craft of whiskey making from his grandfather as a child. Todd, who moved to the Hill Country after serving a decade in the U.S. Air Force, studied fermentation and distillation techniques while stationed in Japan and South Korea, according to the distillery.
The new bourbons will first become available at a release event beginning at 8 am on Saturday, June 27, at the distillery before expanding to online sales and select markets.
