When you offer a three year old single barrel of Bourbon at $139.95 a bottle, most of the serious whiskey drinkers out there snicker and mumble something about “taters” under their breath.
Yet, when it comes to Garrison Bros from Texas, that same sentiment seems to vanish.
Over the years, the story of Garrison Bros insanely-concentrated Bourbons, matured in new American oak barrels that are absolutely scorched in the 130 degree Texas summer heat, has passed the muster of even the most skeptical whiskey drinkers.
Which brings us to this incredibly dark, oak-soaked specimen that was recently bottled for us by Garrison Bros after almost four years in barrel. When you drink a three year old cask strength Bourbon that’s this dark, this concentrated, and this oaky, there are two things your mind prepares you for:
It’s likely going to taste green, aka grainy, corny, or unripe due to its young age
There’s no way the oak will be integrated in that short among of time, so it’s likely to be tannic and course on the palate
But that’s far from the case with this precocious little Bourbon, which is why we bought the entire barrel (not that there was much left after all the evaporation, mind you). The sweetness of the oak vanillins is front and center in this whiskey, backed by an almost smoky, mesquite-like savoriness that finishes with baking spices galore and a candied sweetness that defies its youth at every turn.
It’s so ridiculously ahead of its age that we went back for fourth and fifth tastes before we actually believed our taste buds. Granted, there are going to be plenty of folks out there who will likely doubt every word of this email. But that’s ok because we don’t have enough bottles for them anyway.
There are fewer than 70 available bottles from this cask due to the massive evaporation in the Texas heat, which is what happens when you make Bourbon in that environment. The price point is steep, but that’s the cost of the process. If Garrison Bros were to leave it in the barrel for much longer, there wouldn’t be any Bourbon left to bottle!
We think you’re going to be pleased.