Garrison Brothers, my neighbors down the road in Hye, Texas, release Cowboy Bourbon once a year. This annual drop is commonly drawn from 8- and 9-year old barrels and bottled uncut and unfiltered, its full-proof presentation making it one of the distillery’s most prized expressions.
We’ve encountered three Cowboy Bourbon releases to date, and we’ll keep updating this page as we see more.
Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon (2022) Review
The reddish-hued spirit is spicy and racy on the nose, and there’s clearly lots going on up front. Big aromas of cloves and cinnamon red hots are complemented by a gritty barrel char and a bold stewed fruit character that hits almost like a mulled wine.
All of this comes together explosively on an immersive and blazingly hot palate, notes of chocolate, cherry juice, dried raspberries, and plenty of barrel char. Sharp, fruity, spicy, and woody all at once, it’s a whiskey that seems to know no boundaries, and it never lets its foot off the gas. While sipping this at full strength is manageable, one quickly gets the impression that it’s not the smartest idea should one have plans for the following day. Sure enough, water’s a sensible but also a flavorful choice, bringing out notes of sweet tea, a strong vanilla thread, and more fruit. Those clove and char notes — laced with touches of chocolatey mocha — hit the finish with even more spice, but all of the above are welcome.
All told, it’s one of my favorite Garrison Brothers releases to date. Can’t wait to see 2023’s offering. 134.8 proof. A / $250 [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon (2024) Review
The nose is enticing and wild — kicking off with thick prune and date notes, alongside the intense essence of sweet, dried figs. The whole affair has something of a Maderized quality, showcasing an oxidized wine overtone backed by heavy layers of spices, particularly cloves, plus black tea. A peppery char is increasingly evident the longer it spends in the glass.
On the palate, the same fruit bomb quality hits first, then those spices and a heavy layer of char. A well-cooked, almost burnt beef quality makes for a classic Garrison Brothers experience that pours on flavor whether you want more of it or not. With all that fruity sweetness, again the whiskey hits a bit like a mix of mulled wine and drinking chocolate. Significantly hotter than the 2022 release, you would expect that water would help to tame the beast here, but I didn’t really get a big benefit from the tempering on this round. I’d recommend dosing with a dropper rather than willy-nilly splashes. The finish sees a healthy reprise of those dried figs hitting alongside enduring, throat-scarring creosote notes, making for a conclusion that is both sweet and savory, nearly in equal proportions.
A variation on a theme in comparison to the 2022, this is a familiar yet slightly different expression of one of the boldest whiskeys you’re likely to come across. 140.2 proof. A- / $280 [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon (2025) Review
Is it getting hot in here? At 73.2% abv, this is the most blazing Cowboy Bourbon we’ve seen yet. (11 have now been released to date.) The nose is incredibly spicy and deep, offering intense aromas of burnt wood — blackened, really — and black pepper, set against a backdrop of boysenberry jam and well-dried raisins. There’s no mistaking this for anything else, that “Texas funk” a constant.
The palate is equally aggressive, beginning rather vegetally, with overtones of dill and mesquite, before finally relenting and allowing some sweetness into the mix. Again the fruit is well-dried and raisiny, and it struggles to compete with the smokier wood-driven notes on display. Cocoa and coffee and some complementary qualities, but they are drying and a bit tannic in a time when what the whiskey really needs is more sweetness.
Water helps to a degree, taming some of the heat but not the tannin, which dries up the finish nearly completely. I tasted this side by side with my 2022 bottling and the experience was night and day, that figgy, almost jammy character incredibly obscured in this drop. That said: Hazmat fans will rejoice, naturally. 146.4 proof. B / $250 [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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