WHEN – October 22, 2026
WHAT – Distillery Tour
WHERE – Hye, TX
WHY – We visited Fredericksburg, TX and saw that there was a few distilleries close by.
BEFORE THE TOUR –
We visited the Whisky Shack on site where they have food and drinks. We grabbed an Old Fashioned to take along with us on the tour.
Check out what the Whiskey Shack has to offer. The hours are very limited, so check them out before visiting. We booked a 2:00 tour so we would have time to visit the Whiskey Shack and get a drink and some food.
TOUR NOTES
We visited the Distillery on a Thursday afternoon in October. There were only 6 of us on the tour, which was pretty nice, especially in the dipping room. We received tastes throughout the tour and they offered free bottles of water. The two bars we took tastes in were impressive and fun to be in. We were driven up to the start of the tour in a trailer with wooden seating areas. It wasn’t a far drive before we were out and starting the tour.
Garrison Brothers Distillery Tour Photos
The Garrison Brothers Sign
Welcome to Garrison Bros
Welcome to Historic Hye, TX
The Whiskey Shack
Call me Old Fashioned
The first bar, the first taste
Learning all about Garrison Bros
On the tour
Mark Twain
The Dip
Finished Bottles
Wax Room
Cheers! Volunteers get tastes while they work
Wax Room
Tasting Bar at Garrison Bros Distillery
Time to taste
Learning how to correctly smell and taste bourbon
My friend at the bar
Garrison Bros Long Horn Steer
Us in front of the long horned steer
Tour shuttle – yes, you sit in the back.
Barrel Room
Stamping a star in the wax
Stamping a star in the wax
The wax dipping room. This room is full of volunteers dipping each bottle in a crock pot of wax. They then stamp the top with a star. During the work shift, the workers cheers to a taste of bourbon. Hurray! Check out the stack of tastes this volunteer has! They are rewarded with a bottle, t-shirt and perhaps a ride home at the end of their shift. I read online that they have a pool of 18,000 volunteers they call to work. They call the tastes, quality control. Sounds about right!
I got to stamp a star
in the wax –
PHOTO OP!
Make sure to grab a photo in front of long horned steer statue!
VISIT THE SITE – Visit the Garrison Brothers website and book a tour!
DISTILLERIES WE HAVE VISITED -
Kentucky - Buffalo Trace, Woodford Reserve, Bulleit, Churchill Downs (Bourbon and Bridals Tour), Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Heavens Hill, Bardstown Bourbon, Four Roses Visitor Center in Bardstown, Barrel House Distilling for a flight and lunch, James E Pepper for a flight, Lux for a flight.
Sante Fe New Mexico - Santa Fe Spirits.
Tennessee - Jack Daniels, George Dickel, Nelsons Green Brier for a flight.
Texas - Garrison Brothers
Washington - Adrift Distillery for a flight
I will be blogging about each Distillery. If you have any questions, please let me know. I'd be happy to share any information I have on the tours we took.
Thanks!
Karen
