Garrison Brothers Small Batch Bourbon
The Stats
- Distillery: Garrison Brothers Distillery
- Location: Hye, Texas
- Type: Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Proof: 94 Proof
- Age: At Least 3 Years
- Mash Bill: 74% Corn / 15% Red Winter Wheat / 11% Malted Barley
- Release: Standard Release
- MSRP: $80
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Texas bourbon rarely enters a room quietly. The heat, accelerated aging, and aggressive oak influence tend to produce whiskey with a personality you either embrace or immediately push away. Garrison Brothers Small Batch makes no attempt to soften that reputation. It tastes unmistakably like it came from Texas, and depending on what you want from bourbon, that may be its greatest strength.
At first, we weren’t completely convinced. The earthy nose, three-year age statement, and $80 price created more questions than answers. But the longer we spent with the bottle, the more its leathery, chocolate-forward profile began to make sense. It isn’t trying to imitate a familiar Kentucky bourbon. It is rugged, dense, and just unusual enough to keep pulling you back into the glass.
The Whiskey Behind the Bottle
Garrison Brothers Distillery produces its bourbon in Hye, Texas, where intense heat drives faster interaction between the whiskey and oak. The result is a darker, more wood-forward profile than its age statement might suggest.
The Small Batch is the foundation of the Garrison Brothers lineup. It is a wheated bourbon made from 74% corn, 15% red winter wheat, and 11% malted barley, aged for at least three years and bottled at 94 proof.
The wheat brings sweetness and a dense, bread-like character, while the malted barley helps explain the grain, chocolate, and toasted notes we found throughout the tasting. Rather than the soft vanilla-and-caramel profile often associated with wheated bourbon, Small Batch leans into leather, dark chocolate, toasted bread, and earthy oak.
The bottle matches the whiskey’s rugged character. Thick glass, heavy wax, and a metal Lone Star emblem give it an unmistakably Texas identity. Nothing about it is subtle, and neither is the bourbon inside.
Tasting Notes
Aroma
Honey, cinnamon, leather, toasted grain, orange peel, and dusty oak lead the nose. There is a malty, bread-like quality underneath, along with the faint mustiness of an old house or a well-worn leather shop. It isn’t especially fruity, but a touch of orange peel provides some brightness against the darker, earthier aromas.
Taste
Caramel arrives immediately, followed by dense pound cake, cinnamon, toasted grain, sour apple, leather, and dark chocolate. The sweetness is substantial without becoming syrupy, while the earthy oak and malty character keep it from tasting like a conventional wheated bourbon. As the glass opens, chocolate becomes one of the clearest and most enjoyable notes.
Finish
The finish is medium but fades more quickly than the initial flavors suggest. Dark chocolate, cinnamon, oak, and earthy grain linger briefly before falling away. At 94 proof, it carries enough warmth to support the heavier flavors without becoming overly hot, although a little more proof or age might have added greater depth and staying power.
Artfully Bourbon Rating
7 / 10 - good
Garrison Brothers Small Batch gradually won us over. Its profile is distinctive, confident, and clearly shaped by Texas rather than Kentucky tradition. That makes it more interesting than approachable, but it also gives the whiskey a personality many bourbons lack.
It is not the most polished pour in the lineup, but it delivers enough character and complexity to earn its score and makes a strong case for exploring what Garrison Brothers can do with more age and finishing.
Buy or Skip:
Buy
Garrison Brothers Small Batch is best suited to adventurous drinkers rather than anyone looking for a traditional Kentucky-style bourbon. Its three-year age occasionally shows in the shorter finish, but the whiskey still delivers a distinctive Texas profile without tasting overly young.
At around $80, the price may be the biggest hurdle, especially for anyone unfamiliar with earthy, oak-forward bourbon. Still, tasting it alongside Garrison Brothers’ older, finished releases gave us a better appreciation of what Small Batch brings to the lineup.
It may be the starting point, but it makes a strong case for exploring what comes next.
Where Does It Rank?
Every whiskey we review is scored using the same 10-point scale, making it easy to compare bottles across styles, distilleries, and price points. Explore our complete whiskey rankings to see how every bottle stacks up.
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Product Features
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Care Instructions
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Wipe clean with a damp or soft, non-abrasive cloth
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Air dry thoroughly before storing
