There’s something about fall Saturdays in College Station that just feels right. The roar of 100,000-plus fans inside Kyle Field, the smell of barbecue smoke drifting across campus, and now—starting this season—a proper Texas-made whiskey flowing at the stadium and tailgates. Unreined Whiskey, a brand started this year by a crew of die-hard Texas A&M graduates, has been named the official whiskey of Texas A&M Athletics. For a lot of former students who still bleed maroon, that news hits about as good as a cold beer on a hot September afternoon.
The partnership means you’ll see Unreined bottles and signage all over Kyle Field this season. If you’re at a game where spirits are poured, chances are that’s the bottle the bartender is reaching for. Outside the stadium, the whiskey is already on shelves at Spec’s, Total Wine, and independent stores across the state. For Aggies who like to keep a bottle on the bar cart back home, it’s never been easier to pour one that carries the same pride as your class ring.
What makes this whiskey different starts with where and how it’s finished. Most bourbon drinkers are used to the slow, gentle aging that happens in Kentucky’s cooler rickhouses. Unreined flips the script by bringing barrels down to Texas and letting our heat and humidity do the work. The warmer climate pulls more flavor out of the oak faster—think deeper vanilla, toasted coconut, and that big Texas-sized oak note that hits you right up front. Instead of sticking to one mashbill like tradition demands, the team blends whiskeys on purpose, chasing the exact taste they want in every batch. They’re upfront about every step, too—no smoke and mirrors, just straight talk about what’s in the bottle.
Nelson Ingram, Class of 2013 and the company’s Chief Marketing Officer and blender, sums it up pretty plain: “The vision at Unreined Whiskey is to bring the same world-class bourbon experience you’d find on the bourbon trail to Texas. Long term, we plan to build a brand that not only resonates with consumers but inspires a lifestyle.”
Rob Arnold, who earned his PhD at A&M in 2021 and now sits on the board, adds, “The Unreined Whiskey team’s approach to whiskey is one that blends innovation, quality, and decades of experience to create a whiskey Texans are proud to share.”
The founders aren’t just wearing Aggie rings for show. The lineup includes Ingram, Arnold, Drew Carden ’10, Cory Hall ’13, Kevin Smith ’11, Ryan Howard ’14, and Kyle Bethancourt ’00. Between them and the rest of the crew, they’ve got years working inside some of the best-known distilleries in Kentucky and right here in Texas. They know how to distill, how to age, and—most important—how to blend so the final product tastes right whether it’s your first bourbon or your five-hundredth.
Come spring, they’re opening a visitor center right in College Station. Picture this: you pull up, walk through a 6,200-barrel warehouse built by the Buzick family (folks who know a thing or two about Texas rickhouses), pick out a single barrel with your buddies if you want, then sit down for a guided tasting. They’ll have space for tours, private events, and plenty of room to kick back with a pour and tell old Kyle Field stories. For a lot of former students, that place is going to feel like an extension of campus the minute it opens.
At the end of the day, Unreined is built for two kinds of drinkers: guys who are just figuring out they like brown liquor and don’t want something that punches them in the face, and the ones who’ve been collecting bottles for twenty years and still want something new to talk about. It’s smooth enough to sip neat on the porch after the grass is cut, but interesting enough to stand up when you drop in a big ice cube and watch a game with the fellas.
Texas has barbecue, football, and wide-open spaces. Now it’s got a whiskey that feels just as at home here as everything else we love. Next time you raise a glass—whether you’re in the stands at Kyle Field or on your own back patio—you can do it with something made by Aggies, for Aggies, and aged under the same hot Texas sun that’s been baking the plains around College Station since 1876.
