Lady Bird is possibly my favorite daily drinker from Texas’s Garrison Brothers, and its 2025 edition — a release of 7,110 bottles — continues its three-year run of excellence.

The formula has not changed with this year’s offering, which I’ll digest for you again in case you’re unfamiliar.

Lady Bird, Texas honey-infused cognac-finished bourbon, starts its life as Small Batch that is aged for 4 years in new white American oak barrels before being infused with Burleson’s Texas Wildflower Honey for an additional 8-9 months, creating the exquisite cask strength HoneyDew. The bourbon is then transferred into French Cognac XO casks to mature for an additional 3 years. It is bottled at 114 proof, and each bottle is hand-sealed with a delightful Prairie Purple wax.

The creation of Lady Bird is a testament to the dedication and passion of Garrison Brothers co-founder, Nancy Garrison, and Master Distiller Donnis Todd. Since its first release in 2023, Garrison Brothers has donated over $67,000.00 to the non-profit organization directly from Lady Bird bottle sales.

Ready to plant some flowers (each bottle comes with wildflower seeds) and get to sipping? Here we go!

Garrison Brothers Lady Bird Bourbon (2025) Review

The nose is definitely heavy on the brandy tones, though this year’s release is much more floral than last year’s, showcasing heavy aromas of incense, Turkish rug shop, and rose-heavy potpourri. (Celebrating flowers is all part of the idea, after all.) Prune and raisin notes evoke a more classic Cognac character from there, followed by traditional and hefty wood overtones.

On the palate the heavy raisin theme continues, followed by aggressive notes of baking spices — particularly cloves and allspice. Chocolate and vanilla sweeten the deal, along with a rush of char. A reprise of rose reprises the floral notes before leading to a finish that evokes sweet tea, lavender, and additional brandied flavors that run to raisin and raspberry, figs and dates.

Tasted side by side vs. the 2024 edition, the two whiskeys unsurprisingly share a lot of the same DNA, but the 2025 is clearly burlier and more barrel-forward, with more char and clove notes clinging to the experience. It’s not a dramatic difference, but it is noticeable — and it keeps my preference leaning slightly to the earlier offering.

That said, this 2025 release is still a lot of fun and again stands as one of my favorite bottles from the Garrison Brothers stable.

114 proof.

A- / $180 / garrisonbros.com [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

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