Gentleman's Corner 002
finding your Kentucky - our tour and reflections on Garrison Brothers Bourbon
Taylor here, tagging in for another Gentleman’s corner! Spring has sprung in Austin, with the warmer weather hitting right in time for the two-week South x Southwest festival in the city. Austin always feels vibrant during this time, and Alexandra and I have been enjoying the conferences, music, and movie screenings around town. We’ve also had a blast attending tasting events and tours at local distilleries, which we try to incorporate into our date nights.
The Austin brewery and distillery scene has taken off in the past decade, and our personal favorite is Garrison Brothers. Located in the heart of the Hill Country, Garrison Brothers is on a vast acreage with eateries, events, and music. Alexandra took me as a surprise birthday present last year, and it was the first distillery tour we ever did together. Although Alexandra was (admittedly) ambivalent about partaking in a bourbon tour and tasting, she ultimately loved the experience as much as I did. Alexandra has the nose of a bloodhound, and she was able to discern the various notes and flavors of each spirit without tasting a drop. Our tour guide was impressed, and she informed us that many master distillers are women because they tend to have more perceptive palates and olfactory senses. We were also stunned by the ingenuity of the master distillers in crafting various batches of bourbon from grain-to-glass, which was a process analogous to an alchemy experiment (more on that another time).
The most impactful part of our visit was learning about the founder of Garrison Brothers, Dan Garrison. A former software executive, Dan was left jobless in 2003 when his employer went bankrupt overnight. Seeking a new purpose in life, Dan took a chance and decided to bring the bourbon industry to Texas, despite having no experience making whiskey. Dan took to Kentucky and spent months taking distillery tours and meeting with local distillers, learning the tools of the trade in exchange for cases of Texas barbeque.
Heading back to Texas, Dan bought a small ranch in the Hill Country and tried to implement his newfound knowledge. Navigating the Texas heat proved difficult, and after much heartache, evaporated bourbon, and nearly running out of money on four occasions, Dan finally produced his first batch of bourbon in 2007.
In the nearly two decades since Dan first embarked on bringing the bourbon industry to Texas, Garrison Brothers has flourished. The brand is revered in the State (and increasingly around the country), and the product is extraordinary - I always have a bottle on our bar cart. The distillery has added more ranchland and is involved in numerous outreach programs and non-profits around town, becoming a bedrock of the community. Dan Garrison still walks the premises on nearly a daily basis and greets guests personally.
The influence of Kentucky can be seen all around the Garrison Brothers premises - from the bespoke bottling experience (analogous to Maker’s Mark), to the vibrant music and eateries (similar to Heaven Hill and Bardstown), to the stately grounds (channeling the essence of Buffalo Trace). Yet Garrison Brothers combines and iterates on these elements to create its unique brand and experience that evokes the best parts of the Lone Star State, with the Texas star proudly bestowed on every bottle of bourbon.
As we left the distillery, Alexandra turned to me and said “It looks like Dan found his Kentucky.” Those words have resonated with me since then. Embarking on a career shift (or undergoing any major life adjustment) will be a challenge-filled process. It’s easy for inertia to take over when evaluating the risks and growing pains that will coincide with these changes. While the fear can seem consuming, stories like Dan’s show the power of manifestation and how it can overcome anxiety and lead to life’s greatest joys.
My hope is that everyone can “find a Kentucky” in life. Mine has been carving out a niche healthcare practice at my law firm as I make a push for partnership. For Alexandra, it has been manifesting Elmsgrove Lane as a new business as her inevitable shift from corporate life draws near. We’ve already felt the challenges with these efforts, but also successes and joys that far outweigh the negatives. What’s your Kentucky?
Cocktail Hour
In honor of my love letter to Garrison Brothers, I thought it would be fitting to showcase my favorite of their bottles - their Balmorhea Bourbon. An award-winning bourbon at numerous festivals, the bourbon is the most expensive of the Garrison Brother portfolio (retail price averages around $180), but I think the price is an absolute steal compared to other top shelf products.
Aged for four years in American white oak and “finished” for an additional year in a second oak barrel, the bourbon hits hard at 115 proof. The charred oak notes and full-body of the whiskey are balanced by the dried, fruity notes (a favorite of Alexandra’s to smell) that come through in a subtly sweet taste. The finish is robust, pairing notes of dark cherry and syrup with cinnamon, spices, and a chocolate flourish.
I strongly recommend enjoying this bourbon neat and with a single drop of water to open up the spirit. Whiskey lovers will love the rich and complex flavor profile and aromas - 10/10 recommended!
Parting Thoughts
I recently finished Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a video game recently released by the storied developer Bioware. Without diving too much into nerd culture (per Alexandra’s strict request), I’ll just say that Bioware created some of the most influential game series in history (Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur’s Gate, and Mass Effect to name a few) and were largely responsible for the renaissance of Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons fandom in the 2000s. Their stories were mature and their characters were nuanced. Your allies were opinionated and would react disapprovingly to your in-game decisions that contradicted their ideological positions, challenging players to reflect on their worldly perspectives. All of that went out the window in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
What was supposed to be the capstone to a low fantasy series that first launched in 2009 was instead a commercial failure met with disdain from fans. The production process was tumultuous, and the direction of the game was rebooted twice during the 10-year development cycle. All of the creative directors and writers for the series have now been fired or left the company. A myriad of post-mortems have been written about the game, but I feel the chief issue with the product is that it was at war with itself. It tried to cater to new fans by “rebooting” the series while still including story-beats that harken back to the prior three games. It created a cast of characters with diverse upbringings and perspectives while avoiding any conflict and ensuring everyone “gets along”. Per the writeup included in the game’s art book, the development staff also brought in consultants to ensure the narrative was structured in a way that would appeal to everyone and minimize discomfort for players. By trying to please everyone, the game satisfied no one.
The Dragon Age series was an prominent example of a tailored product achieving commercial and critical success precisely because it leaned into its unique nature. Its recent failure is a stark reminder that aiming for mass appeal can often be a siren’s call.
Reflections, by Alexandra
As I read Taylor’s second edition of the Gentleman’s Corner, I can’t help but recognize a theme across each of the stories he’s told: a new idea becomes even more powerful when it’s informed by those of the past. It speaks to legacy and heritage - valuing the past while looking forward into the present.
As Taylor mentioned, we celebrated SXSW in Austin over the past two weeks, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend Food Tank (more on my experience at the event to come). After listening to the stories of farmers, creators, writers, and other food-industry experts, I noticed that many of the conversations I was part of over the course of these two days would become key to the future of Elmsgrove Lane.
From Garrison Brother’s to Dragon Age, I think it’s clear: learning from the experiences and opinions of others can make it or break it. It’s a really beautiful example of community, and the beautiful things that can happen when we come together.