Reserve 101 is launching the first-ever Single Barrel Bourbon from Garrison Brothers, the oldest legal whiskey distillery in Texas.
In 2011, Garrison Brothers set aside 342 of the finest tasting, highest quality bourbon barrels on its ranch in Hye, Texas. Reserve 101 co-owner Mike Raymond was invited to the distillery in November 2013 to be the first to select a barrel from that crop, tasting from a dozen different barrels before making his selection.
The barrel yielded 36 bottles (750mL) of one-of-a-kind, 94-proof Texas Straight Bourbon, which will be sold exclusively at Reserve for $25/shot. Distilled in July 2010 and bottled in February 2015, it’s one of the oldest bourbons that Garrison Brothers has ever released. Each bottle features a special silver sticker that says, “Hand-selected by Master Distiller Donnis Todd for Reserve 101.”
Garrison Brothers founder/owner Dan Garrison was at Reserve 101 on Tuesday evening to introduce the bourbon. He called it “exquisite” and richer and heartier than his award-winning Cowboy Bourbon, which was Whisky Bible’s 2014 “American Micro Whiskey of the Year.”
“It’s one of the best barrels I’ve ever tasted,” Garrison said. “Absolutely delicious – nectar of the gods. We’ve been working on this program for years trying to get it into place. Mike has been such a big supporter of bourbon and bourbon makers throughout the country, he’s the first person I thought of.”
The Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Bourbon joins a growing collection of private bottlings at Reserve 101. Raymond and co-owner Steve Long went to Kentucky in 2014 to hand-select single barrel bourbons at Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey (Russell’s Reserve) and Jim Beam (Knob Creek) distilleries. Reserve offers more than 340 whiskeys from 13 different countries.
Garrison Brothers Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey was the first whiskey ever made in Texas, and the first bourbon whiskey in the world authentically cooked, fermented, distilled, barreled and bottled outside of Kentucky or Tennessee. More than a dozen other Texas distilleries have been launched since Garrison Brothers first started legally producing bourbon in 2007.
Reserve 101 is located at 1201 Caroline Street in Houston (77002), open Monday-Saturday from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Houston’s premier whiskey bar features more than 340 specialty whiskeys from around the world sought out by co-owner and whiskey connoisseur Mike Raymond. Reserve also features an alcohol-infused food menu that makes it the only late-night dining option in downtown Houston open seven days a week. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.reserve101.com.
