Yesterday, Dec 29th 1845, Texas became the 28th state in the union.
Texan citizens have always been fiercely loyal to their state and to the products produced there. There are now about 25 different distilleries producing whiskey in Texas. Though Texans are promoting these products, their popularity throughout the country has put Texas distilleries at the forefront of the American whiskey industry.
Here is a list of their distilleries to date (research by Sku’s Recent Eats blog)
- 1. Alamo Premium Distillery, San Antonio, TX. This distillery makes Texas Moonshine Corn Whiskey and is working on Texas Craft Whiskey.
2. Balcones Distillery , Waco, TX. This distillery released the first run of their Baby Blue blue corn whiskey in September 2009. They also make Brimstone Corn Whiskey, a smoky corn whiskey, a malt whiskey and a bourbon.
3. Banner Distilling Co., Manor, TX. This distillery is working on a wheat whiskey.
4. Big Thicket Distilling Co., Conroe, TX. This Houston area distillery opened in 2014 and is working on Boom Town Bourbon and Whiskey and Roughneck Reserve Bourbon.
5. Bone Spirits, Smithville, TX. This distillery makes Fitch’s Goat Corn Whiskey and Moonshine, FG 160 Corn Whiskey and Bone Bourbon.
6. Dallas Distilleries Inc., Garland Texas. This distillery makes Herman Marshall Bourbon, Rye and Single Malt.
7. Dorcol Distilling Co., San Antonio, TX. This distillery is working on Kinsman Texas White Whiskey, a malt whiskey.
8. Double Wide Distillery, Red Rock, TX. This distillery is working on a corn whiskey.
9. Fire Oak Disillery, Liberty Hill, TX. This distillery plans to make Outcast White Whiskey, Fire Oak Texas Whiskey and a bourbon.
10. Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. (aka F&R), Fort Worth, TX. This distillery is working on a bourbon but has so far released a sourced blended whiskey under the label TX Whiskey.
11. Five Points Distilling, Forney, TX. This distillery is working on Lone Elm Wheat Whiskey.
12. Garrison Brothers Distillery, Hye, TX. Garrison Brothers Distillery makes Garrison Brothers Bourbon.
13. Ironroot Republic Distilling/Likarish Enterprises, Denison, TX. This distillery is working on Carpenter’s Bluff Moonshine, a corn whiskey.
14. Jem Beverage Co., Carrollton, TX. This company markets blended whiskey, a bourbon and a rye from an undisclosed distillery under the label Red River and is going to release Texas Shine, South House Moonshine, Lonespur Texas Whiskey and Blue Lacy Whiskey. They are also working on a version of Blue Lacy Blended Whiskey which appears to be distilled in house.
15. Kiepersol Enterprises, Tyler, TX. This distillery makes Jimmy’s Texas Bourbon.
16. Loblolly Spirits, Red Rock, TX. This distillery is working on a corn whiskey.
17. M. Wells Distilling, Cedar Creek, TX. This distillery makes Austin Shine, a four grain white whiskey and is working on a bourbon and Armadillo Texas White Whiskey, distilled from bourbon mash.
18. Quentin D. Witherspoon Distillery, Lewisville, TX. This distillery makes Cross Timbers Texas Malt Whiskey Witherspoon malt whiskey and a Texas Straight Bourbon. They have not been clear about whether the bourbon is sourced.
19. Railean Distillers, San Leon, TX. This distillery makes rum and is planning to release Kelly Jean light whiskey and corn whiskey.
20. Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling, San Antonio, TX. This distillery makes Ranger Creek .36 Texas Bourbon, .44 Texas Rye and Rimfire Single Malt.
21. Rebecca Creek Distillery, San Antonio, TX. This distillery is currently making a vodka and a sourced spirit whiskey (Rebecca Creek Fine Texas Whiskey) and plans to release a malt whiskey. They are working on 1823 Blended Whiskey, which may also be sourced.
22. Rio Brazos Distillery/Barkman Spirits, College Station, TX. They are working on Rio Brazos Whistlestop Texas Whiskey, a corn whiskey, Boxcar Texas Whiskey and also plan on making a bourbon.
23. Spirit of Texas, Pflugerville, TX. This distillery makes rum and is planning to release Pfluger Single Malt.
22. Swift Distillery, Dripping Springs, TX. This distillery makes Swift Single Malt Texas Whiskey using imported Scottish barley and aged in bourbon barrels and sherry casks.
23. Whiskey Hollow, Valley View, TX. This distillery plans to release Texas Double Thumper White Whiskey, a bourbon mash whiskey and Texas Gold Bourbon.
24. Whitmeyer’s Distilling Co., Houston, TX. This company released a sourced bourbon and now makes Whitmeyer’s Texas Whiskey, distilled in-house.
25. Yellow Rose Distilling, Pinehurst, TX. Located just north of Houston, this distillery is working on Outlaw Bourbon, made from a 100% corn mash, a single malt and Nashville Blended Whiskey.
Whiskey has always been big in Texas. They are the largest American consumers of Canadian’s Crown Royal whisky in the country. So much so that around this time last year, Crown Royal released a special single barrel bottling exclusively in Texas (though it is more widely available now). Rebecca Creek distillery is well aware of Texans’ love for Crown Royal and set out to compete for the locals’ attention. Their whiskey is made to be similar to Crown Royal. Anywhere else, I might say, “don’t even try to go toe to toe with Diageo”, but, as I’ve said, Texans like to buy Texan products. Rebecca Creek seems to be doing just fine with their “Canadian style”, sourced blend.
Two of my favorite distilleries in Texas are Balcones and Garrison Brothers. They are distilling and aging their own products and winning many well-earned awards along the way. The idea that a micro-distillery should be making its own juice and aging it has been hotly debated since the American whiskey boom began about a decade ago. What is the difference if it tastes good? My take is that a well-educated consumer is capable of deciding for him/herself. The problem arises when the consumer is led to believe a falsehood. If the distillery is responsible for creating that false narrative and pushing their agenda on a fiercely loyal customer base, they should be held accountable.
One of the companies in Texas that has been very forthright about their products’ origins is Firestone and Robertson’s Distilling in Fort Worth. They are making their own whiskey, but their own juice is still young. They’ve blended their TX whiskey from sourced product to keep their business successful until their own bourbons are ready for the market.
For Christmas this year, one of my family members (from Texas) bought me a bottle of TX blended whiskey. They bought it with every intention of showing off their home state’s whiskeys. I was hesitant to inform them that there is no Texas whiskey in the bottle. “How can that be? It says Texas right there!” (Texans, as I’ve said, are very loyal customers) Sometimes knowing where your whiskey comes from is a job in itself…I just hope that more people are becoming aware of what they’re buying. If you already know it’s not from Texas, you still love the whiskey, and you know that you’re buying it as a gift because you’re a proud consumer, then great! I just wish the look on my brother-in-law’s face didn’t show shock…The people from Illinois sued the company that led them astray. I hope that whiskey companies in the future learn from that distillery’s mistake.
