Texas’ Garrison Brothers Distillery recently released their oldest, and rarest, bourbon expression, the Laguna Madre 2023.
The bourbon’s debut came at a special distillery event at their campus in Hye, Texas.
A statement from the whiskey maker noted that the rare expression will see only 2,100 bottles this year, with a thousand of those already scooped up by whiskey enthusiasts at the July release event.
The distiller’s notes show that Laguna Madre is matured a full eight years, making it the oldest bourbon released by Garrison Brothers. It’s aged four years in white American oak barrels, then another four years in Limousin oak casks (rare casks imported from France).
The result, the distiller notes show, is a 101-proof vanilla bomb with tasting notes of root beer, vanilla bean, hazelnut, saltwater taffy, chocolate gems and a candy bar finish.
Founder Dan Garrison called Laguna Madre a bourbon “that an experienced bourbon drinker won’t ever forget.”
With this bourbon release, Garrison Brothers continues its method of social impact and giving back. The first release of Laguna Madre, back in 2020, started the campaign “Operation Crush COVID-19,” which drove donations for “Good Bourbon for a Good Cause.”
That raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help support the Texas hospitality industry where bartenders, servers and cooks could rebuild their lives after massive industry-wide layoffs.
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The 2023 release continues to build on charity as it’s being used to bring recognition to the non-profit organization FlatsWorthy, a coalition of diverse anglers that educate and participate in habitat restoration, and involvement with state and federal agencies in resource protection.
This past June, the Garrison Brothers Distillery team joined FlatsWorthy for a three-day fishing trip on the Texas Gulf Coast in the waters of the actual Laguna Madre.
Master Distiller Donnis Todd has a special place in his heart for the non-profit organization, he said, as his son Calvin is a proud FlatsWorthy volunteer.
“Blessed to be associated with such a wonderful group of people who are as passionate about the Laguna Madre as I am about the bourbon,” Todd said.
FlatsWorthy founding member, Chuck Naiser, said, “We appreciate the unique opportunity to partner with Garrison Brothers Distillery who share our concern and dedication to conserving the resource for future generations. Together we can make a difference on the Laguna Madre and adjacent waters.”
Each bottle of Garrison Brothers’ Laguna Madre comes in a custom-built wooden display case, framed by a photo of the Texas Gulf Coast and accompanied by informational assets about FlatsWorthy. All bottles are hand-signed and numbered by Master Distiller Donnis Todd.
Laguna Madre is available in select bars, restaurants and retailers with a suggested retail price of $349.
For more information, check out www.garrisonbros.com.
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