Behind the Brand
Lee Diaz, ReserveBar Staff Writer
Toast to magical moments
with our collection of holiday favorites.
Tucked away the rolling hills of Texas wine country is a quickly growing bourbon distillery unlike any other. Garrison Brothers Distillery has quickly grown in popularity with a cult-following level of renown in many states including its own. Leveraging every aspect of the Texas terroir, from the grains to the intense heat, and focused on creating the best distillate possible with a single mash bill as the base for all releases there’s no doubt that Garrison Brothers is showing what Texas bourbon can be. At the helm of operations for this family brand is Master Distiller, Donnis Todd. We sat down with Donnis to learn more about his unique journey into whiskey, how he approaches his work, and his vision for making the best Texas bourbon out there.
I grew up in a military family; my father was in the Air Force and as for my older siblings, my sister married into the army and my brother was a Marine. So I grew up learning about the importance of military service. At the same time, my grandfather made corn whiskey, legally for a living. My father transitioned to working as a truck driver after he was done with the Air Force, and my mom was a custodian at our local church and our high school – they were incredibly dedicated and hard working.
But my grandfather made corn whiskey, and I just fell in love with the stories that he told. I quickly learned most of those stories were fabricated, but I wanted my own stories. Nothing against my mom and dad; they were grinding, madly in love, but worked hard and didn't have a whole lot of stories about cleaning the school or delivering new Fords across the country. But man, my grandpa could tell whoppers, and I was like, “Man, I want that life. I want to make corn whiskey for a living.”
Being from that military background, I always wanted to serve our country. So after high school, I joined the United States Air Force and during my time of service based on where I was stationed, I had an opportunity to study fermentation in Korea and distillation in Japan. And no matter where the United States Air Force sent me, I always found a way to be around fermentation and distillation, always knowing that I wanted my own stories, like my grandpa's.
I fell in love with Texas – Texas pride is no joke. That's the team I wanted to be on. If you spend any time in the United States Air Force, you learn about Texas one way or another. And I just fell in love with Texas pride. I got here as quickly as I could, and I watched the DSPs – it's public knowledge that when someone files for a DSP. I saw one come across, Lone Star LLC, and through a network of friends that I had built when I was in the United States Air Force, I said, “Hey, look this cat up. Who's this Dan Garrison guy out there in high Texas? What's he going to make?” Because at that time, there were only four other distilleries; one was making a liqueur, and the other three was making vodka. And nothing against those spirits, but I wanted to make bourbon whiskey, the distinct product of the United States of America, and that's what I wanted to do.
I just grew up around whiskey and that process early on, and now I wanted to be a part of it for work. And what better place to do it than Texas with so much pride. My friends let me know, “Hey, this guy and his brother, they're going to make bourbon whiskey in Hye, Texas.” So, I sold everything but my Harley and my son, and I got to Hye, Texas as fast as I could get there. And believe it or not, man, I’m coming up on 20 years at Garrison Brothers. It goes quick.
I think that just walking around a still that my grandfather had fabricated, and my grandfather explaining to me what was going on inside of that – you couldn't see it, but through his words, I could feel it, and then before I knew it, I could see it. And then I could see it before it happened. And I just wanted to know more and more. I was lucky enough growing up to get off the school bus at my grandpa's and spend as much time with him as I wanted. He was fun to be around. He enjoyed life. He loved telling stories. And I just really fell in love with that, with the fermentation and that process and the distillation, the separation of those compounds, and what was happening inside of that still. And in the things that you could do through a different still design or a different distilling technique that would separate different compounds to result in it tasting differently.
Obviously, my grandpa wasn't letting me drink corn whiskey right off the still, but, I could feel it, and I could nose it, and I could be around it and really just listening to him paint that picture for me. Man, it just set its hooks deep, and I wanted to know more. Thanks to my time of service and to the American taxpayer, I had an opportunity during my down time abroad to learn a ton about fermentation, distillation around the world.
I definitely want readers to know that we produce a Texas bourbon. But it's not just “Texas bourbon”, it's Garrison Brothers. We are the first legal bourbon distillery in Texas – and yes, we want to make sure that we say “legal” because we know a lot of folks long before us were probably making bourbon whiskey, but just decided to keep it underneath the radar.
But you know, for fans new and old, if Garrison Brothers comes up, I'd want there to be no doubt that folks know we're at the very tip of the spear for Texas bourbon whiskey. Being the first legal bourbon distillery in Texas means a lot to us – but more than that, it is just a starting point for the quality bourbon we have been producing now for decades.
You know, I am truly blessed. I get a ton of the credit, but really, we need to give almost all of it to that Texas terroir, the extreme temperature changes the climate here in Texas – you can't harness it or even control it. You can hopefully just survive it, and that survival makes this just unbelievable bourbon whiskey that puts the flavor over the proof.
With our extreme Texas terroir, we also have a ton of evaporation, but what's left in each barrel is pretty magical. Yes, it’s definitely true that I get almost all of that credit when it really should be going to Texas. You know, I also work for an amazing family, and I'm surrounded by 111 very passionate, capable humans that just are so focused on this effort around making bourbon whiskey.
Again, as the Master Distiller, I get almost all that credit, but I'm really blessed to do this in Texas, to do it for an amazing family and to make bourbon whiskey with the men and women that I get to make it with. It's pretty special.
There are a few things that I'd want everyone to know, that we don't really talk about a ton. One: All of the grains are from Texas; Two: it's a sweet match fermentation process; Three: it's a wheated mash bill. We don't plaster it all over the bottle – I like a real clean, super sexy, all-painted bottle; not real big on stickers. And with the guidance of Rob Cordes, our Marketing Director, we’ve created just beautiful packaging – it's very elegant, but it's big and bold as it should be from Texas. It's that Texas luxury and so we don't want to put too much on the front of that bottle. We're not shoving that down your throat, but those are things that I'd want people to know about Garrison Brothers Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
All three grains are from Texas, and that means something to us. We know the sacrifices that those farmers make to get that grain to us and we're willed to do better with them, because we've had a relationship with all three of these farmers for almost 20 years. And it's Texas, like everywhere else, it's hard to make a living these days, and it's hard here with this Texas terroir. We have droughts and hurricanes and tornadoes and fires – I mean, we get it all here in Texas. It's tough, and we know what those families go through. And we are so thankful for that work. As a sweet mash, there is quite a bit of extra work and coordination. I'm not doing any set back – brand new fermenter, and all new grains every time.
We all taste things differently. It really depends on who's cooked most of our meals, where we grew up, what we enjoy; texture has so much to do with people's enjoyment of food and drink. For me, I hope folks love the mouth feel of Garrison Brothers being a wheated mash bill. It's a little sweet on the front. Everyone who knows me by now knows that I'm going to have an elevated alcohol content in the bottle. I'm a firm believer that wheaters do a little better at a higher proof. The more water you put in them (wheated bourbons), on my palate, they get a little earthy, a little dirty, a little chunky. I want them crisp, big and bold – I really like that mouthfeel.
And I think we have that across our beautiful portfolio, even when I get that Cowboy Bourbon up above a hazmat-level bourbon, I still fully believe that the flavor overpowers the proof. If you ever get it the other way, why would a consumer spend their hard-earned money on it? No matter what the proof is, if it's 80 or 140.9 the flavor better overpower the proof, or the consumer won't spend their money on it. And you may get them once, but you won't get them twice. We're trying to build a generational, iconic brand – you don’t get into bourbon to make a quick buck. I feel that the way to do it right is to have a very special mouth feel and make sure the flavor overpowers the proof. I hope that folks are getting that, and I'd hope folks know some of those things we don't plaster all over the bottle.
You know, it's one of those things, and I never understood it. I saw my grandpa; I saw my dad; my brother's older than me – why do old dudes just get up early for no reason? And damn, before I knew it, I got old, and I got started getting up early. So, I followed in those same footsteps. And with that, my unique routine is very early in the morning, 4-5-6 o'clock, I'm in the barns tasting in barrels. You know, good oral hygiene as I hope everybody's doing every morning – I do that then no food or drink. Just get to work and taste barrels, and chase those next 50.
Usually by seven o'clock, my phone's starting to chirp, and the real work starts – budget, payroll, and someone's sick in the schedule – all of these things when the real work starts as people start to turn on their phones and their computers. So, if I can get three or four hours before the real world kicks off, my palate is really perfect in the morning, and the barns are peaceful and quiet. Early in the morning, God willing, I'm in a barrel barn – I'm chasing the next 50, and it's beautiful, and I hope it never changes.
It all starts with our quarterback, Dan Garrison. He is a very genuine, kind, giving human being. There's almost this cult following that we have and shame on us if we don't use the opportunity to do better in our community. And that starts with the Garrisons – that's just Dan and who he is, and we feed off of his direction – our entire company follows our quarterback and his lead. We'd be pretty shallow human beings if we just made it all about the liquid in a bottle. We have the opportunity to do good, and we use that opportunity. From Balmorhea State Park to Lady Bird, to supporting recovery from the terrible fires that they just had up in Texas. Dan continues to find a way to use this platform to make a difference in our communities. Good Burden for a Good Cause is our nonprofit, and I could tell you hundreds of stories of how I've seen good bourbon change the world. An example of this was that I watched Dan Garrison give 1,000 bartenders, $1,000 a piece during covid, who were out of work, people sleeping in their cars, their electric being off for a month.
Folks needed help and he found a way to be a part of that support. You want to talk about something powerful that's a lot more meaningful than some damn liquid in some damn bottle. And I'm just blessed to be around a human that allows us to make a difference and not make it all about the bottom line in business, but to actually think about humans, think about our neighbors, and think how we can make this place better than we found it.
I'm a believer that all of this has helped in rising the ship, and that helps everybody in the industry. Some people may think it would be so much easier for Garrison Brothers if you were still the only bourbon from Texas. And sure, it might be easier for our sales team or for our marketing department. But we all believe here at Garrison Brothers that the tide all rises the ship, and we all benefit from that. I'm okay with how popular the bourbon category is; I'm fine with how crowded the shelf is. I'm a firm believer that the cream rises to the top. We've already talked about it – your packaging and story, your price point all may get to consumers once, but if it isn't any good, it won't get them twice. And I know Garrison Brothers is good, so I don't worry about that.
One way or another, they're going to find Garrison Brothers, and that's a hard step back after they find it. It's hard to buy; it's not a budget bourbon. But we know that old saying, if it's something you really want, you find a way to afford it. You're never too busy for a true friend. You know a good bourbon is never too expensive. If that's really what you want to drink. I'm a firm believer in that.
They should start in a friend's liquor cabinet. Man, this bourbon is expensive, so I'd start on a friend's dime to make sure I like it before I drop 70+ bucks. If someone's headed out to a liquor store or one of their local water holes, and it's going to be their first run at Garrison Brothers, in a perfect world, I'd hope that it was my Small Batch Bourbon.
It's a vintage strategy – every year, there are subtle differences. It’s 50 to 55 barrels that I hand select and marry together. That beautiful rainbow that we produce is all a result of me looking for those next 50, and everything that exists in our line-up is really a byproduct of the process of how I make Small Batch Bourbon. That's where every Garrison Brothers drinker should get started. I can't control that, so there are nine beautiful SKUs out there, and I'm truly blessed if someone wants to drink any one or all of those. I'm very grateful for their support.
We'll use this next term pretty loosely, but they do “pay” me to do this. I'm working really hard to find those next 50 and to be fair to the process and the craft, once I pick a profile for Small Batch Bourbon for a year, I'm going to do that 50 or 60 times – I'm going to find that 50 to 55 barrel set.
So day in and day out, I have Small Batch Bourbon on my palate. That's the profile I'm looking for the next 50. So, I'm a big fan of Garrison Brothers Small Batch – it’s two parts Garrison Brothers, one part glass. I don't care how hot it is, I don't need anything in it. So that's my cocktail of choice.
Something for me is that if you're not hurting anybody, don't ever let anybody tell you how to enjoy something. You know, if you enjoy your bourbon in a cocktail, then so be it. If you enjoy it watered down, get after it. If you enjoy it nice and neat, hell yeah, sip on it slow. Get to know it and really enjoy it. Something that I love to tell people is “don't let someone tell you how to enjoy something.” Take the time, and get to know it; if you're not hurting anybody you know, find your path.
Enjoy it the way that makes it most enjoyable for you – instead of someone telling you it must be in a cocktail or it must be neat, or it must be over ice, or it must have a drop of water. Us bourbon geeks are quick to tell someone how to enjoy something, and I just don't think that's right. We're not hurting anybody. Find your own path. Take the time. Find what works for you, and enjoy it in moderation. I'm sure y’all’s definition of moderation might be a little different than mine – I taste 50 barrels of whiskey day in and day out, but however you enjoy it, enjoy it in moderation.
