Garrison Brothers Launches the Ranch Reserve Series: Two 8-Year Sherry-Finished Bourbons That Rewrite the Texas Playbook
Something significant is happening in the Texas Hill Country, and it goes beyond the usual limited-edition pageantry that the bourbon world has grown accustomed to. Garrison Brothers Distillery has introduced a new limited-edition whiskey lineup called the Ranch Reserve Series, featuring two 8-year-old sherry cask-finished Texas bourbons, with each bottle priced at $149.99. For a distillery that built its reputation on straight-ahead, unapologetic Texas bourbon, the move into Spanish sherry finishing territory signals a deliberate creative pivot — one that deserves a serious look from anyone who tracks where American craft whiskey is headed.
What the Ranch Reserve Series Actually Is
The inaugural expressions in the series — Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in PX Sherry Casks and Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks — will be available for purchase starting June 27 at the distillery in Hye, Texas. That's the date bourbon hunters will want circled on the calendar, and based on Garrison Brothers' track record with special releases, showing up early is not optional — it's mandatory.
Both releases begin as 4-year-old Garrison Brothers Texas Straight Small Batch Bourbon aged in new American oak barrels before spending an additional four years in Spanish sherry casks. The math here is straightforward but the implication is considerable: this is not a whiskey that got a few extra months of "finishing" as a marketing footnote. Four full years in sherry wood, on top of four years in American oak, means the sherry influence runs deep into the grain of these spirits. Each then spends an additional four years in 59-gallon sherry casks, bringing the total age statement to eight years.
The Two Expressions Up Close
The PX Sherry Cask Finished expression draws its name from Pedro Ximénez, a grape variety central to a legendary sherry tradition in Spain. Official tasting notes from the brand describe toffee, caramel, figs, and candied fruit with a long, luxurious finish. The PX Sherry Cask Finished bourbon uses barrels from Pedro Ximénez sherry production and is bottled at 109 proof. Pedro Ximénez is one of the sweetest, darkest sherry styles in the world — the grapes are sun-dried to intensify their sugars before fermentation, and the resulting wine is a viscous, near-syrup of raisins, molasses and dried fruit. Four years inside casks that previously held PX sherry would push any whiskey toward the lush and decadent end of the spectrum.
The Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished bourbon is bottled at 110 proof and is described by the company as offering notes of walnut and baking spice with a more savory profile. Garrison Brothers Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished starts as a 4-year aged bourbon in new, toasted, and charred white American oak and then rests four years in Oloroso 59-gallon sherry casks from one source in Jerez, Spain. Oloroso — meaning "fragrant" in Spanish — is a fully oxidized, dry-style sherry, aged without the layer of yeast (flor) that protects lighter styles like Fino. The result is a wine with pronounced nutty, dried fruit and savory wood character, making it a natural counterpoint to the sweetness of PX. The sourcing of these casks from a single Jerez supplier suggests Garrison Brothers put serious thought into provenance rather than simply acquiring whatever sherry wood was available on the commodity market.
Master Distiller Donnis Todd put the contrast directly: "These two releases share the same Texas bourbon backbone and deliver two different sherry traditions," Garrison Brothers Master Distiller Donnis Todd said in a news release. "One dark and decadent and the other, savory and structured." He added: "These are beautiful in color and remarkable in taste." Todd is not given to hyperbole, which makes those words worth noting.
A New Bottle Built for the Brand's Next Chapter
The Ranch Reserve Series also introduces a new bottle design for the brand, featuring a leather-style band, walnut-colored wax dip and updated labeling. At a distillery known for deerskin lace and hand-applied wax as part of its standard bottling ritual, the visual upgrade for this series carries weight. Each and every bottle of Garrison Brothers bourbon is sealed with a cork, wrapped in deerskin lace, and then dipped in hot wax. The walnut-toned wax on the Ranch Reserve expressions visually connects the packaging to the Oloroso expression's tasting profile while giving the entire series a distinctly upmarket identity within the portfolio. This is a distillery that understands bourbon collectors pay as much attention to what a bottle looks like on a shelf as they do to what's inside it.
The Numbers: Scarcity as Strategy
Both expressions carry a suggested retail price of $149.99 and produced about 6,000 bottles each. Twelve thousand total bottles across two expressions at $150 a piece is a measured release — large enough to satisfy a national audience across multiple markets, small enough to drive urgency at the distillery gate. The whiskeys will first be released at the distillery beginning at 8 a.m. on June 27 before expanding online and into select markets. Anyone who has stood in the Hill Country heat waiting for a Cowboy Bourbon allocation knows that "8 a.m. at the distillery" is a sentence that gets people out of bed before sunrise.
Garrison Brothers currently has a waitlist of more than 18,000 just to volunteer on bottling days, and their Cowboy Bourbon normally sells out within hours of its release. That level of demand, built over nearly two decades, means 6,000 bottles of a brand-new prestige expression is going to move fast. The $149.99 price point, while premium, positions the Ranch Reserve releases below the stratospheric territory of Cowboy Bourbon while still communicating that these are not everyday pours. For a sherry-finished, 8-year Texas bourbon at just over 109 proof, the value conversation is at minimum defensible.
The Man Behind the Mash: Donnis Todd and the Art of Texas Distilling
The master distiller at Garrison Brothers is Donnis Todd, who learned the basics of the craft of whiskey making from his grandfather as a child. Todd, who moved to the Hill Country after serving a decade in the U.S. Air Force, studied fermentation and distillation techniques while stationed in Japan and South Korea, according to the distillery. That biography — part Appalachian tradition, part military discipline, part Asian technical study — is not the standard résumé of a Kentucky bourbon man, and the Ranch Reserve Series reflects that breadth of reference. Finishing a Texas straight bourbon in ancient Spanish cask traditions is exactly the kind of cross-cultural thinking that emerges when a distiller has studied craft in multiple countries rather than a single corridor of the Bluegrass State.
With Master Distiller Donnis Todd at the helm since 2008, every expression is made from a sweet mash bill and barrel-aged in the intense Texas climate. The extreme heat creates multiple aging seasons in one year, resulting in a darker, richer, textured bourbon, bolder than most others on the market. That intensity in the base spirit is precisely what makes these sherry finishes so interesting from a technical standpoint. The bourbon going into those PX and Oloroso casks was already a full-flavored, deeply structured Texas whiskey — not a light, neutral base looking for the sherry wood to do all the work. The interplay between the two flavor systems, Texas heat-driven and Spanish sherry-driven, is the central story in each glass.
Where Garrison Brothers Came From: The Origin Story Worth Knowing
Garrison Brothers Distillery, located in Hye, Texas, in the Hill Country, is the first and oldest legal whiskey distillery in Texas, and the first distillery outside of Kentucky to produce authentic, handcrafted, corn-to-cork bourbon whiskey. In 2006, the distillery was granted the first stiller's permit for bourbon outside of Kentucky and Tennessee, which makes it the oldest legal bourbon distillery in Texas. That permit was not easily obtained. The regulatory landscape for bourbon outside Kentucky was largely uncharted in the mid-2000s, and getting federal recognition required the kind of stubborn persistence that defines Garrison Brothers' entire story.
Founder Dan Garrison, both a University of Texas graduate, initially worked in Austin at GSD&M and jumped to a tech start-up in the mid-1990s that was taken down in the Enron debacle, according to the distillery's documentary, Cowboy Bourbon - The Full Proof Tale of Garrison Brothers Bourbon. He was unemployed after the Enron scandal of 2001 bankrupted the software company where he worked, and Dan started writing a business plan during a tour of Kentucky distilleries. Some experts advised that he'd need to make vodka to stay afloat in the early, lean years; that he'd need to source some whiskey to start; or that bourbon couldn't come from Texas. He ignored all of it. Dan Garrison, founder of Garrison Brothers Distillery, is the poster child of resilience. It took Dan over 60 tries to perfect the recipes that we can now enjoy.
Founded in 2006 by Dan and Nancy Garrison, Garrison Brothers first brought its bourbon to market in 2010. Garrison Brothers Distillery, located in Hye, Texas, is the first and oldest legal whiskey distillery in Texas, and the first distillery outside of Kentucky to produce authentic, handcrafted, corn-to-cork bourbon whiskey — and only bourbon whiskey. Every drop is made from Texas-grown grain, distilled and aged under the blazing Hill Country sun, proofed by pure rainwater, and bottled by hand at the ranch. That "only bourbon whiskey" designation is not incidental — it's a philosophical statement. Where many craft distilleries diversified into gin, vodka and rum during lean years to generate cash flow, Garrison Brothers committed exclusively to bourbon from day one and held that line.
They believe that for a whiskey to be called a Texas whiskey, it must be fermented, distilled, matured, and bottled in Texas. They were so convinced that the regional designation is so important that they co-founded the Texas Whiskey Association to create the Certified Texas Whiskey program to protect this designation, which has inspired regional distillers across the country. This institutional role as standard-bearer and regulator of the regional category is part of what gives the Garrison Brothers name its weight when a new release drops.
The Texas Climate Advantage — and How It Shapes Every Drop
The scorching Texas climate has a huge impact on the bourbon. Once the charred oak barrels have been filled with the white dog, the constant fluctuation in temperature from hot to cool causes the bourbon in the barrels to swell and shrink, forcing the aging bourbon to cycle through the wood's crevices. This accelerated interaction between spirit and wood is not a workaround for impatience — it's a genuine climatic variable that produces bourbon with different structural properties than Kentucky product aged at more moderate temperatures. Unlike most whiskey-producing states which experience four complete seasons, Texas can experience four seasons in one week — sometimes in one day. These extreme climate changes cause expansion and contraction to the wood in the barrels, and other conditions that impact the outcome of the whiskey.
What this means in practical terms for the Ranch Reserve Series is that the 4-year base bourbon going into those Spanish sherry casks was already a more wood-forward, concentrated spirit than a comparable 4-year Kentucky bourbon would be. The Texas heat extracts more from American oak, more quickly. By the time those barrels were transferred into 59-gallon PX and Oloroso casks for their second four-year rest, the bourbon had a backbone robust enough to absorb another four years of wood influence without losing its identity. That's a meaningful distinction between what Garrison Brothers is doing with the Ranch Reserve Series and a lighter-bodied whiskey that gets six months in finishing casks as an afterthought.
Another reason Garrison's bourbon stands out from the competition is the use of a sweet mash rather than a sour one. Most bourbon distilleries ferment their mash bill with yeast to make a mash and distill it to create a high-proof liquor called "white dog," then add sour mash from a previous distillation for the next batch. This maintains a consistent pH level. At Garrison Brothers, each batch starts with a fresh (sweet) mash. Doing things this way is far more expensive, but the flavor profile of the grains is more pronounced in the final product. With PX and Oloroso sherry casks bringing their own intense flavor signatures into the equation, having a more grain-forward base spirit underneath all that influence creates a final whiskey with more layers to discover.
A Crowded Category Gets More Interesting
Merely a decade ago, Texas only had two whiskey distilleries: Garrison Brothers Distillery and Balcones Distilling. Since then, in 2018, twelve Texas-based distilleries formed the Texas Whiskey Association, to bring about awareness to consumers about whiskey brands deemed as "certified Texas made," and to support whiskey distilleries within the state. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, there are now over 130 distilleries in Texas. In that landscape, Garrison Brothers needs releases that do more than remind the market that they were first. The Ranch Reserve Series does something more sophisticated — it argues that being first gave them the time, resources and institutional knowledge to execute a project that newer entrants simply haven't had the runway to attempt.
Central Texas has evolved into one of the country's fastest-growing craft whiskey regions over the last decade, with distilleries across Austin, Dripping Springs, Blanco, and Waco drawing national attention for Texas-made bourbon, rye, and single malt whiskey. Against that backdrop, the Ranch Reserve Series is a competitive statement as much as a creative one. Sherry-finished bourbon is not a new concept in American whiskey — Kentucky distilleries have played in that space for years, and craft producers across the country have experimented with European casks. But an 8-year, fully Texas-grown, sweet mash bourbon with four full years in single-source Jerez sherry casks is a specific and ambitious product claim that is hard to replicate without Garrison Brothers' particular combination of climate, process and time.
The Broader Portfolio Context
The distillery now offers nine expressions available nationwide and in five countries, with more than 800 awards to its name. The Ranch Reserve Series, which introduces a tenth and eleventh expression, does not cannibalize existing products — it extends upward. The distillery's lineup already includes releases such as Cowboy Bourbon, Balmorhea, Laguna Madre, Lady Bird, and the Guadalupe. Each of those expressions occupies a specific conceptual and price-point territory within the portfolio. The Ranch Reserve Series carves out premium sherry-finished territory that nothing else in the lineup occupies.
The distillery's recent Bottled in Bond release earlier in 2026 showed a similar pattern of deliberate portfolio expansion. Garrison Brothers Distillery announced that release as the first and oldest legal whiskey distillery in Texas to produce a Bottled in Bond Bourbon — a six-year-old, 100-proof Texas bourbon made from Texas grains and proofed with pure Hill Country rainwater. Taken together, the Bottled in Bond and the Ranch Reserve Series suggest a distillery in a purposeful phase of portfolio maturation — honoring American whiskey tradition with one hand while reaching toward international finishing traditions with the other.
Garrison Brothers bourbon is sold across all 50 U.S. states and in five countries. The Texas bourbon has earned more than 800 awards and the distillery is visited by over 50,000 people a year. That institutional weight — national distribution, international presence, five figures in annual visitors — gives the Ranch Reserve Series a commercial platform that most craft distilleries could only dream of. The question is not whether these bottles will sell. They will, and quickly. The more interesting question is whether they represent the opening of a new chapter in how Texas bourbon gets defined.
What It Means for the Collector and the Casual Drinker
For the serious bourbon collector, the Ranch Reserve Series ticks every relevant box: limited production, meaningful age statement, genuine dual-cask architecture with documented provenance from Jerez, and a brand with demonstrable secondary market demand. The 6,000-bottle run per expression is generous enough to reach dedicated enthusiasts in multiple states but tight enough to create real scarcity dynamics once the initial distillery release is absorbed.
For the casual drinker who has encountered Garrison Brothers on a restaurant back bar or picked up a bottle of Small Batch at a well-stocked retailer, the Ranch Reserve Series represents a step up in complexity and price that is worth the stretch. Every expression of Garrison Brothers bourbon is made from a sweet mash bill and barrel-aged in the intense Texas climate. The extreme heat creates multiple aging seasons in a year, resulting in a darker, richer, and fuller bourbon, bolder than almost any other bourbon on the market. Adding four years of PX or Oloroso sherry cask influence onto that already-concentrated base gives the casual drinker two very different but genuinely approachable flavor destinations: one confectionary and rich with dark fruit, one savory and structured with walnut and baking spice. Neither profile is intimidating, but both reward attention.
The fact that these two expressions are being released simultaneously under a unified series name is also smart product design. Collectors who want both will buy both, creating a natural pairing opportunity. And at $149.99 per bottle, picking up one of each represents a $300 investment that compares favorably to what aged, finished bourbons from comparable craft producers command on the secondary market.
Getting Your Hands on a Bottle
Both will first be available at the distillery beginning at 8 a.m. on June 27, with online sales and distribution to select markets to follow. The Hye distillery sits in the Hill Country along Highway 290, roughly halfway between Johnson City and Fredericksburg — a stretch of Texas road that has become one of the more pleasant bourbon pilgrimages available to American drinkers. Today, Garrison Brothers is distributed in all 50 states and several international markets, while the distillery draws tens of thousands of visitors annually to its ranch in Hye. For those who cannot make the trip, the online and retail rollout following the June 27 distillery debut should provide a secondary opportunity — though timing and persistence will both be required.
What Garrison Brothers has built with the Ranch Reserve Series is more than a pair of limited-edition bottles. It is a statement about where Texas bourbon is capable of going when the distillery has been at it long enough, with enough conviction in its process, to commit truly extended time — eight full years — to a single vision. After nearly two decades of fighting the good fight, the Garrisons have become a leader of a new style of whiskey: Texas Whiskey. The Ranch Reserve Series is the clearest argument yet that Texas whiskey is not simply bourbon made south of the Mason-Dixon line. It is its own thing, shaped by Hill Country sun, Texas-grown grain, and now, the ancient sherry cellars of Jerez. That combination has never existed before. It does now.
