At the end of September a prestigious judging panel consisting of beverage writers, trade experts, distributors and “influential buyers” convened along the Las Vegas Strip in order to pour through and ultimately evaluate thousands of adult beverages across dozens of categories. Entries were tasted blindly and assigned a numerical value out of a possible 100 points. It was all part of a multi-day competition appropriately ordained the Las Vegas Global Spirits Awards.
Now that the results are in, it’s time we take a closer look at what these judges rated as the best bourbon of 2024: Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Strength. To be precise, the lauded single barrel in profile was #13,255 from the distillery’s warehouse in Hye, Texas. Yes, that’s right this award-winning American whiskey didn’t hail from outside of Louisville or Nashville. It was proudly produced about an hour’s drive east of Austin, in the heart of Hill Country.
The provenance shouldn’t shock anyone that’s been paying attention to craft whiskey over the past two decades. Indeed, Garrison Brothers has been bottling quality bourbon in this part of the world since 2010. Its original straight bourbon release from back then was the first whiskey ever legally distilled in Texas. And the scene has gone gangbusters across the Lone Star State in the intervening years. According to a recent estimate from the University of Texas at San Antonio, the number of whiskey makers within the state currently stands at 190.
But anyhow, back to the beloved Single Barrel Cask Strength #13,255. Bottled at a whopping 138.2-proof, this particular expression boasts a dark copper color and thick, near-oily viscosity. Riding this velvety mouthfeel is a torrent of toffee, nutmeg and cinnamon dusted creme brûlée. In the finish, these sturdy tasting notes split open to reveal sandalwood spice that lingers for several beats.
It can certainly punch the palate when sipped neat, but a drop or two of room temperature water helps loosen up and heighten the effects of everything aforementioned. The fact that it exerts all this complexity after a minimum of just three years in virgin charred oak (Garrison Brothers doesn’t officially state the age on the label) is a testament to how much the dynamic Hill Country climate encourages wood sugar extraction.
Judges at Las Vegas, in turn, were so encouraged by the sip that they awarded Barrel #13,255 a sterling score of 98. It was enough not only to clinch Best In Show Bourbon, it was the highest score of any spirit evaluated this year—save for one specific bottle of tequila that notched a 99. That’s a story for another day, of course.
In the meantime, curious bourbon lovers can score Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Strength at a suggested retail price of $180 a bottle. Just remember—as the name of the product makes plainly clear—this is a single barrel offering. Under optimal aging conditions, Texas whiskey makers rarely get more than 250 bottles out of any one 53-gallon vessel. So the liquid contents of Barrel #13,255 might be long stripped from shelves
While there is guaranteed to be variance from cask to cask in the series, idiosyncratic differentiation is kind of the point. It all occurs within set parameters, however, and when you’re dealing with this particular style of bourbon from Garrison Brothers, those markers are set by quality and complexity, served with high heat—with a high score, to match.
A sign marks the site of a whiskey still at the Bayou Wildlife Zoo Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, in … [+]