Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon 2026 Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey 750ml

Every September, the Texas Hill Country outside Austin turns into something like a pilgrimage destination — customers drive in from Houston, Dallas, and even further, all converging on the small town of Hye with a single goal: getting their hands on a bottle of Cowboy Bourbon before it sells out. This year was no exception. The 2026 release, the twelfth annual edition, debuted at the distillery on September 12, with the first 1,000 bottles going on sale at 8 a.m., drawn from 118 barrels personally selected by Master Distiller Donnis Todd.

This isn't a whiskey for the timid, and it never has been. At 141 proof (70.5% ABV), the 2026 Cowboy Bourbon reaches genuine "hazmat" territory — strong enough that it can't legally fly on a commercial aircraft — even though that's actually a touch lower than 2025's release, which hit 146.4 proof. The bourbon begins with Garrison Brothers' signature sweet mash bill: 74% food-grade white corn, 15% red winter wheat, and 11% malted barley, with wheat rather than rye specifically chosen to build the rich sweetness that helps the whiskey carry such an extreme proof. What separates Cowboy Bourbon from a simple dump-and-bottle release is patience: the Texas Hill Country is a brutal aging environment, with summer temperatures regularly cracking triple digits and dramatic day-to-night swings that force the whiskey deep into and out of the wood with real aggression. Todd identifies standout barrels as they mature under that punishing climate, sets them aside for further aging, and only then marries them together for the final release — already the best barrels in the rickhouse, given even more time.

Official tasting notes describe a profile of burnt wood, gun smoke, dried stone fruit, caramelized sugar, dried fruit, and toasted marshmallow — the same DNA that's defined Cowboy Bourbon across all twelve releases, since debuting in 2013 and helping put both Garrison Brothers and the entire state of Texas on the national bourbon map. The prior year's release, 2025 Cowboy Bourbon, has since gone on to earn a Platinum medal at the 2026 ASCOT Awards and a Double Gold medal at the 2026 SIP Awards — genuine confirmation of just how consistently well this annual release performs. With only 16,000 bottles produced for the entire 2026 edition, and beginning wider retail availability October 1st, this remains the most sought-after, most talked-about expression in the entire Garrison Brothers portfolio.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Garrison Brothers Distillery, founded in 2006 by Dan and Nancy Garrison and located in Hye, Texas, is the first and oldest legal whiskey distillery in the state, 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 intense Hill Country sun, proofed with pure rainwater, and bottled entirely by hand at the ranch.

Cowboy Bourbon, first released in 2013, is the distillery's annual limited-edition flagship, built around a mash bill of 74% food-grade white corn, 15% red winter wheat, and 11% malted barley — wheat rather than rye chosen specifically to support the sweetness needed to carry the whiskey's exceptionally high proof. The 2026 release, the 12th annual edition, was drawn from 118 barrels personally selected by Master Distiller Donnis Todd, each one identified during maturation for standout aroma, flavor, color, and development, then set aside for further aging in the Texas Hill Country's punishing climate before being married together for the final bottling. Aged a minimum of eight years, the whiskey is bottled uncut and unfiltered at cask strength — 70.5% ABV / 141 proof — with 16,000 bottles produced total, the first 1,000 sold directly at the distillery on September 12, 2026, followed by wider release to select bars, restaurants, and retailers nationwide beginning October 1, 2026.

Critics Reviews

No formal critic reviews are confirmed specifically for the 2026 release at this time — a very recent, just-released 2026 edition. For context, the prior year's release has since earned significant recognition:

Platinum Medal — ASCOT Awards, 2026 (for the 2025 Cowboy Bourbon release)

Double Gold Medal — SIP Awards, 2026 (for the 2025 Cowboy Bourbon release)

Bourbon Obsessed (official press release coverage):
"Historically, Cowboy Bourbon is one of the most notable and award-winning bourbons ever made in Texas. Each barrel was hand-selected by Master Distiller Donnis Todd and aged for at least eight years to achieve unparalleled depth of flavor. Bottled at cask strength, uncut, and unfiltered, the bourbon delivers a bold, sweet profile that reflects the spirit of the Texas Hill Country where it is crafted."

Garrison Brothers (official tasting notes):
"Notes of burnt wood, gun smoke, dried stone fruit, caramelized sugar, dried fruit, and toasted marshmallow."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Burnt wood and gun smoke lead, joined by dried stone fruit and caramelized sugar, alongside toasted marshmallow.

Palate
Rich, sweet, and full-bodied, with caramelized sugar and dried fruit carrying the entry, balanced by the whiskey's wheated sweetness against genuine oak-driven intensity built up over eight years of extreme Texas climate maturation.

Finish
Long, bold, and warming, closing with lingering dried fruit, toasted marshmallow, and caramelized oak — genuinely powerful, hazmat-level intensity from a whiskey built to be sipped slowly and deliberately.

Quick Overview

Serving Note

Best enjoyed neat, in small pours, in a Glencairn glass. Given the extreme hazmat-level proof, adding a few drops of water is genuinely recommended to open the whiskey's full complexity.