Garrison Brothers Is Releasing Guadalupe at Cask Strength for the First Time — And It's Raising Money for the Texas Coast
Every summer, bourbon drinkers in Texas know to watch the calendar. Garrison Brothers Distillery, the Hill Country operation that has been rewriting what American whiskey can look like outside of Kentucky, has built a reputation on annual releases that move fast and leave most people empty-handed. The 2025 season is no different — except this time, the Hye, Texas distillery is doing something it has never done before. Alongside the return of its beloved port-finished Guadalupe expression, Garrison Brothers is debuting a cask strength single barrel version of that same bourbon, and doing it for a cause that hits close to home for every Texan.
The Story Behind Guadalupe: A River, a Winery, and a Happy Accident
Guadalupe's origin story dates back to 2015, when Garrison Brothers began aging four-year-old bourbon in vintage port barrels sourced from a local winery — laying the foundation for what has become one of its most sought-after expressions. The project was experimental at first, a quiet experiment tucked into the back of the distillery's aging program. In 2021, master distiller Donnis Todd decided to expand the project, and it's now an annual release.
In its fifth annual release, the story of Guadalupe kicked off in 2015 when Garrison Brothers procured a local winery's decades-old port casks to age four-year-old bourbon. Shortly after, Garrison Brothers Master Distiller Donnis Todd started sourcing for a more expansive port cask bourbon project. What began as a single creative experiment has now matured — in every sense of that word — into one of the most anticipated drops in the American craft bourbon calendar.
How the Liquid Is Made
The magic maturation combination comes from four years in white American oak casks followed by two years in tawny port casks. As with every expression of Garrison Brothers bourbon, Guadalupe is handcrafted from grain to glass at the distillery in Hye, Texas. This limited release bourbon is bottled at 107 proof and is made with a sweet mash of number one food-grade corn, soft red winter wheat, and barley, all sourced from Texas.
Every bottle of Guadalupe is numbered and hand dipped in copper color wax to finish. A sensuous, creamy liquid, Guadalupe's tasting notes include berry fruit, ripe plums, strawberry butter on flaky morning biscuits, toasted coffee bean notes, chocolate, and cinnamon. That flavor profile is what has made this expression something of an outlier in the Garrison Brothers lineup — where most of the distillery's releases lean hard into charred oak and baking spice heat, Guadalupe is rounder, almost seductive, with the port influence threading a ribbon of dark fruit through every sip.
Donnis Todd has been direct about the role the land itself plays in the finished product. "Water makes the whiskey," he said in a statement. "Guadalupe 2025 is bold and beautiful — shaped by Hye's wild Texas temperature swings, then proofed with rainwater we harvest on our 68-acre ranch. That devotion to clean environment is a big part of what makes Garrison Brothers legendary," says Todd. It is a philosophy baked into every decision the distillery makes, from grain sourcing to the proof water they use — and one that gives the 2025 release a particular resonance given the cause it is supporting.
The Headline News: Guadalupe at Cask Strength, for the First Time Ever
This marks the first time Garrison Brothers has released Guadalupe at cask strength. That alone would be enough to generate lines at the distillery gate. But the specifics of this release make it even more interesting from a whiskey standpoint. This year and for the first time, in addition to the 2025 Guadalupe release of 1,000 bottles at the distillery event, Garrison Brothers will also be releasing 1,000 bottles of Guadalupe Cask Strength Single Barrel, bottled at proofs ranging from 123.9 to 129.8, priced at $219.99.
That proof window tells you something important about how the Texas climate interacts with these barrels. The distillery is releasing Guadalupe Cask Strength Single Barrel — a single barrel expression that will clock in between 123.9 and 129.8 proof, depending on the barrel — which is actually pretty reasonable considering that expressions like Cowboy Bourbon have soared above hazmat level of 140 proof in recent years. Compared to the white-knuckle heat of Cowboy Bourbon, the Guadalupe Cask Strength sits in a more approachable range — strong enough to deliver an uncut, unfiltered experience, but gentle enough that the port-derived fruit and chocolate notes won't be obliterated by raw alcohol.
This is, in many ways, the ideal format for a double-matured whiskey. Port finishes work because wood extraction has already happened in the first vessel; the second barrel is about flavor layering rather than structural tannin building. At cask strength, without any dilution softening the edges, drinkers get an undiluted look at what the interaction between Texas-grown wheated bourbon and tawny port casks actually produces. The distillery is offering 1,000 of these bottles — each one from an individual barrel, each one slightly different from its neighbor depending on exactly where it sat in the rickhouse and how that barrel reacted to the Hill Country's notorious temperature swings.
The Release Event: July 12 in Hye, Texas
Garrison Brothers Distillery announced it will release its 2025 Guadalupe Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey on July 12 with a limited on-site launch event in Hye, Texas, followed by nationwide availability later in July. Named after one of the Lone Star State's most beautiful rivers, the 2025 Guadalupe Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey will enter the market with a total of approximately 8,600 bottles available including the first 1,000 to be claimed on release day at the distillery.
The standard Guadalupe expression carries a suggested retail price of $149.99, while the cask strength single barrel counterpart is priced at $219.99. For those who cannot make the trip to Hye on release day, nationwide availability is expected later in July. However, the cask strength bottles are strictly a distillery-only offering, which means the 1,000-bottle run is effectively the entirety of what the market will see. Anyone who wants one will need to show up in person or find a bottle in the secondary market — and given the distillery's track record, the secondary market price will be significantly north of the $219.99 retail.
It is also worth noting the context in which this release is landing. Given the recent flooding in the Hill Country, the distillery will match $50 for every bottle purchased to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund up to $10,000, and all food and drinks sales profits at that day will be donated as well. The Texas Hill Country has seen serious storm events in recent years, and the distillery's willingness to direct resources to local relief efforts on release day reflects a community-minded ethos that goes beyond marketing.
A Cause Bigger Than the Bottle: Gulf Trust and Texas Conservation
Garrison Brothers will donate $50 from every bottle of Guadalupe Cask Strength sold to Gulf Trust. Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation is proud to serve as an incubator for the Gulf Trust, which was launched to provide Texas-based, science-backed solutions that support a vibrant and resilient Texas Coast and Gulf.
The naming of this bourbon after the Guadalupe River is no accident, and the charity partnership makes that geographic symbolism concrete. The Guadalupe River originates in the Edwards Plateau and winds through the Hill Country — past Kerrville and New Braunfels — before ultimately flowing into San Antonio Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Pairing a bourbon named for that river with a donation program designed to protect the health of that very coastline closes a loop that gives the release a depth of meaning most limited drops can't claim.
Jay Kleberg, executive director of Gulf Trust, framed the stakes clearly: "Texans live in a coastal state, not just a state with a coast," says Kleberg, "and every one of our rivers, including the Guadalupe, flows to the Gulf. We are all connected by water, and with this partnership, Garrison Brothers and its customers are supporting healthier waters — for Texas and beyond."
This is not the first time Garrison Brothers has tied a limited release to a conservation cause. The company previously released 1,000 bottles of limited edition Balmorhea Cask Strength for sale, hand selected by Master Distiller Donnis Todd, from 11 single barrels, only available at the distillery — with proceeds from the sale used to raise funds for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. The bottles from that special release retailed for $50 more than the standard Balmorhea Bourbon, and that entire premium went to support the foundation. The Guadalupe Cask Strength follows the same structural model: a premium-priced limited edition, with the surcharge going directly to an environmental cause rooted in the Texas landscape that makes Garrison Brothers what it is.
Guadalupe's Track Record: Why the Awards Matter Here
The Guadalupe expression has not needed charity to justify its existence — the accolades speak loudly enough on their own. Since its first release, Garrison Brothers Guadalupe has received dozens of coveted awards. Most recently, 2024 Guadalupe received Platinum (97 points) and Spirit of the Year, Brown, from the 2025 San Diego International Wine and Spirits Challenge. It also received Double Platinum from the 2025 Ascot Awards and Double Gold from the 2025 Los Angeles Invitational Spirits Challenge.
A 97-point score from a respected competition, paired with Double Platinum recognition, puts the standard 107-proof Guadalupe in genuine conversation with the best port-finished whiskeys produced anywhere in the world. That competitive standing makes the cask strength release feel less like a gimmick and more like a natural evolution — the distillery asking what happens when you take an already award-winning liquid and simply stop cutting it with water before bottling.
The Texas Terroir Argument: Why This Isn't Just Marketing
Garrison Brothers has leaned hard on the "made in Texas" identity since its founding, and the skeptics have largely been quieted by the quality of the product. 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. 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.
The climate argument is not rhetorical — it is measurable science. Since Garrison Brothers is located in Hye, Texas, its whiskey barrels are exposed to blazing-hot temperatures for most of the year. This leads to higher levels of water evaporation in the barrels, and thus higher alcohol strength. Additionally, the heat also causes a more intense flavor, rapidly extracting tannins and flavors from deep within the oak barrel staves.
Embracing this phenomenon, Garrison Brothers ages much of its bourbon in small, custom-made barrels to maximize wood-to-whiskey contact and ultimately make a bold product. The result is a whiskey that can reach cask strength numbers that would take Kentucky distilleries many more years of aging to approach — and can do it while still retaining enough fruit and sweetness to make the proof feel earned rather than punishing.
The bourbon is full of tannic oak notes due to the fact that it's partially matured in smaller barrels in a climate full of extremes. The distillery is located in Hye, not far from Austin, so the barrels are exposed to temperature extremes during very hot summers and cool winters that increase the interaction between whiskey and wood as they age. For the Guadalupe expression specifically, layering those Texas-amplified oak notes underneath two years of tawny port influence creates a genuinely distinctive flavor architecture — one that the cask strength version will deliver with nothing softened or hidden.
Garrison Brothers and the Cask Strength Tradition: A Portfolio Snapshot
The Guadalupe Cask Strength does not exist in isolation — it joins a distillery portfolio that has been systematically pushing into high-proof territory for years. Garrison Brothers Distillery has been making bourbon — and only bourbon — since its founding in 2006 when it became the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas since Prohibition. Using exclusively Texas-grown grains and the sweet mash process, Garrison Brothers has built a diverse portfolio of bourbons, but its high-proof, cask-strength expressions are its most coveted.
At the top of that hierarchy sits Cowboy Bourbon, the distillery's annual flagship limited release. Celebrating its 11th annual release, each bottle of the 2025 Cowboy Bourbon is hand-selected by Master Distiller Donnis Todd and aged for at least eight years to achieve an unparalleled depth of flavor. Bottled at cask strength, uncut, and unfiltered, this bourbon offers a taste so bold and sweet, it delivers an experience true to the spirit of the Texas Hill Country where it is crafted. The 2025 Cowboy clocked in at 146.4 proof — a so-called "hazmat whiskey." The term, though not an official one, has become a popular way to denote whiskeys that carry an ABV of 70 percent or higher, since the Federal Aviation Administration prohibits liquids of such potency on commercial airplanes.
The distillery also maintains an ongoing single barrel cask strength program at the entry level of its portfolio. The Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey is the epitome of Legendary Texas Bourbon: bold, unfiltered, and uncut. Each barrel, hand-selected by Master Distiller Donnis Todd, develops its own distinct character under the relentless Texas sun. Current barrels in that program are running proofs between 132.6 and 137.7 — numbers that dwarf most of what Kentucky ships as limited releases. The Guadalupe Cask Strength, ranging from 123.9 to 129.8 proof, actually sits below that program in terms of raw proof — which makes sense given the port cask influence moderating some of the raw ethanol edge.
With nine expressions available nationwide and in five countries, and more than 700 awards to its name, the distillery continues to define authentic premium bourbon for the modern era. That footprint — nationwide distribution, international presence, and a wall of competition gold — gives Garrison Brothers a credibility that extends well beyond the Texas craft bubble. The Guadalupe Cask Strength release is arriving into a market that has been primed, by years of award-winning Guadalupe releases, to understand what it is being offered.
What the Balmorhea Precedent Tells Us About the Guadalupe Cask Strength
The closest analog to this summer's Guadalupe Cask Strength release is the Balmorhea Single Barrel Cask Strength that preceded it — another limited, distillery-only drop structured around a cause-driven premium. Each of the 11 single barrels chosen was bottled at cask strength for that release, and while no age statement was provided for the bourbon, it was originally distilled and barreled in 2017.
The Balmorhea Cask Strength release taught the market a few things worth carrying forward. After the insanely dark color, the next noticeable trait of this bourbon was its lack of noticeable ethanol on the nose. For just over 130 proof, the aroma of the bourbon was balanced with scents reminiscent of a camping trip, along with a pleasant dark berry jam. The palate exploded with spice as rye spice, Mexican chocolate, and cinnamon spice collided with dry notes and dense brown sugar. The spice kicked off a wave of heat in the finish, which quickly transitioned to dry and chewy, highlighting oak and leather along with an intriguing chocolate brownie batter note.
Critics who tasted the Balmorhea Cask Strength noted that the additional proof was nice, adding depth yet never being overpowering or trying to be the star of the show. Double-barreled Texas bourbon can easily go too far past the point of no return, thanks to Texas' extreme aging climate, but Garrison Brothers Balmorhea Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon embraces its roots and delivers a really nice sip. The same logic applies to Guadalupe. The base liquid, already praised for balance and complexity at 107 proof, should translate well to the uncut format — if anything, stripping away the added water should allow the tawny port character to come through with greater clarity and concentration.
How to Get a Bottle — and What to Expect If You Do
The path to a bottle of Guadalupe Cask Strength Single Barrel is straightforward in theory and competitive in practice. Both the standard Guadalupe and the cask strength version launch on July 12 at the distillery in Hye, Texas. A total of 8,600 bottles of Guadalupe will be released this year, with the first 1,000 available at the distillery. The cask strength run is capped at a separate 1,000 bottles, also distillery-only.
Garrison Brothers releases tend to attract serious crowds. The distillery's December Cowboy Bourbon drops have proven that bourbon drinkers will make the drive to the Hill Country and queue at the gates to claim a bottle. The Guadalupe event in July, held in the heat of a Texas summer, will likely test that commitment in a literal sense — but anyone familiar with how these events unfold knows that the community atmosphere, the on-site tastings, and the chance to grab bottles that won't hit retail shelves more than compensate for the temperature outside.
For those who cannot make the trip, the standard Guadalupe will hit shelves nationwide by the end of July at $149.99. The cask strength, however, will not follow that nationwide path. The ability to help out a charity in the process is only the icing on the cake for this limited distillery-only release from Garrison Brothers. With $50 per cask strength bottle going directly to Gulf Trust, every purchase carries a weight beyond the liquid itself — a rare situation in the limited bourbon release market, where the cause is embedded in the retail price rather than tacked on as an afterthought.
Garrison Brothers will debut a limited run of Guadalupe Cask Strength Single Barrel bottles, bottled at proofs ranging from 123.9 to 129.8 and priced at $219.99. Each bottle, like every Guadalupe before it, will be individually numbered and hand-dipped in copper wax. The barrel number will vary by bottle, meaning collectors and drinkers alike will know exactly which of the eleven contributing barrels their purchase came from — a level of transparency that the single barrel format demands and the distillery has always delivered.
The Bigger Picture: Texas Bourbon's Ongoing Ascent
Releases like the Guadalupe Cask Strength do not happen in a vacuum. They are the product of a distillery that has spent nearly two decades building the infrastructure, the reputation, and the audience to make a limited-edition cask strength port-finished bourbon feel like an event rather than an experiment. Founded in 2006 by Dan and Nancy Garrison, Garrison Brothers bourbon first entered the market in 2010. Today, Garrison Brothers is renowned for its legendary craftsmanship. With nine expressions available nationwide and in five countries, and more than 700 awards to its name, the distillery continues to define authentic premium bourbon for the modern era.
The decision to debut a cask strength version of Guadalupe — rather than, say, a new mashbill or a different wood finish — is also a signal about where the premium bourbon market is heading. Consumers have grown more comfortable with high-proof releases, more interested in understanding what uncut whiskey actually tastes like, and more willing to pay a premium for bottles that offer a distinct, unmediated connection to the barrel. The Guadalupe Cask Strength is positioned precisely at that intersection of demand and supply, pairing a familiar and beloved base expression with the format that the market currently finds most compelling.
It also continues a pattern Garrison Brothers has established of using its most sought-after releases as vehicles for something larger than whiskey sales. From Texas Parks and Wildlife to Gulf Trust, the distillery has consistently found ways to fold environmental stewardship into its release calendar — treating the land that produces its bourbon not as a backdrop but as a constituency worth protecting. In a category where storytelling has become as important as liquid quality, that commitment to place gives every Garrison Brothers release a narrative that no amount of marketing spend can manufacture.
The 2025 Guadalupe Cask Strength Single Barrel is, at its core, a first. First time at cask strength. First time with a Gulf Coast conservation angle. First time the port-finished expression will be bottled without dilution, giving the unfiltered Texas climate the final word on proof, color, and flavor. For anyone with the means and the calendar availability to make July 12 in Hye, Texas a priority, this release represents one of the more legitimately compelling distillery events of the summer season — and one of the more honest arguments for why Texas bourbon, built on heat and rainwater and time, deserves every bit of the national attention it has earned.
