Review: Garrison Brothers Balmorhea Bourbon (Updated 2026)
Texas-born bourbons are not exactly known for their delicacy, and Garrison Brothers — which stakes a claim as being “the first corn to cork bourbon distillery in America opened beyond Kentucky, and the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas” — has long stood proudly on those very laurels. While its standard Texas Straight Bourbon and a few other expressions are well known and widely available, Garrison Brothers also has a limited edition bottling called Balmorhea. This special edition has been released only once before; below we look at the second release of the whiskey, which arrives for 2019.
What’s Balmorhea? It’s a West Texas State Park that contains an enormous swimming pool, the largest spring-fed pool in the world. With Balmorhea whiskey, Garrison Brothers donates $5 from every bottle sold to preserving, restoring, and landscaping this park.
So what are you getting? The whiskey in the bottle is not simply repackaged Garrison Brothers Texas Straight Bourbon. Rather, it’s a double-aged bourbon that starts with its standard sweet mashbill, which is then aged for four years in new American white oak barrels made from Ozarks-harvested wood. A second aging involves an extra year in half-size white oak barrels made from trees grown in Minnesota.
Let’s give it a try!
Note: With this updated post, we’re consolidating our Balmorhea coverage to offer a look at the whiskey as it changes over the years.
Garrison Brothers Balmorhea Bourbon (2026) Review
We missed the 2025 release, but we’re back for a look at 2026’s offering. The formula hasn’t changed, but a single barrel offering (not reviewed) was released this year in very limited quantities. Balmorhea has never been shy with wood, and 2026’s release is no exception to the rule, though this year’s release sees all that heavy tannin a bit better integrated into the experience. Heavy char slides toward dark chocolate and anise on the nose, then on to coffee — dark roast, just shy of burnt. The palate is more invigorating, though the winey notes of 2024 and earlier are largely absent here. In their stead, the char notes become increasingly smoky, while the coffee notes turn slightly sweet. More effusive notes of chocolate, cinnamon, and a lightly herbal chicory note give the midpalate and beyond a real lift, the finish settling back into some racy cherry notes, edged with fresh green herbs. It’s altogether more of a lip-smacking crowd-pleaser (while still exuding just a touch of that trademark Garrison Bros. funk) — and definitely a step in the right direction. 115 proof. A- / $180 [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Garrison Brothers Balmorhea Bourbon (2024) Review
(Previous editions have used oak from different forests for the two barrels; no word on wood sourcing this year, though.) Unlike Guadalupe (and other Garrison special editions), Balmorhea has year-round availability. Coffee-brown in the glass, this is Garrison Brothers at peak Garrison Brothers, taking everything you know about the brand and amping at up another notch. The nose is dense with wood and char, showcasing coffee bean, oxidized wine, saddle leather, and fresh-cut lumber — all the fixins to survive a cool night at the ranch. The whiskey positively broods in the glass, with layers of cloves and more coffee, barbecue char, and that inimitable, oxidized Madeira quality that I’ve remarked on in prior vintages. Dusky and increasingly herbal as the finish builds, the drinker is left with lingering notes of rosemary, accented by ample notes of mesquite smoke. 115 proof. B+ / $180 [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Garrison Brothers Balmorhea Bourbon (2023) Review
Balmorhea was first released in 2017, and it comes with a commitment from the distillery to donate $5 from each sale to Balmorhea State Park, home of the one of the world’s largest natural spring swimming pools. To date, the distillery has donated more than $78,000 to Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation. Last reviewed here in 2019, 2023’s version is arrives with the same approach as always: Double barreling that sees the whiskey spend four years in new American white oak barrels made from wood harvested from the Ozarks, then another year in barrels made from Minnesota trees.
Racier than the Small Batch but still firmly represented on the ranch, Balmorhea sees Garrison Brothers taking a more alcohol-driven yet sweeter approach to the house style. It remains boldly spicy with cloves and allspice notes offering an aggressive punch, but the whiskey tempers some of the rye-driven grass and woody barrel influence with welcome elements of mint and basil. The palate feels quite similar, both burly and spicy, with a candied ginger quality emerging with time in glass. Punchy with cloves and dark espresso notes, the whisky finds a sherried, almost Maderized quality after it’s spent a half hour or so in glass, culminating in a finish that mixes together dates, raisins, and walnuts. Definitely a step up from the Small Batch, it’s a curious combination of both Old World and New World styles — all done with American oak from start to finish. 115 proof. A- / $140 [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Garrison Brothers Balmorhea Bourbon (2019) Review
This is an incredibly intense whiskey, the color of (weakish) coffee, impossible to see anything but hazy light through it. The nose cues you in right away to what to expect, with heavy notes of barrel char, coffee bean, and candied pecans. Smoky with mesquite notes, there’s a pungency of black olives and smoldering eucalyptus branches underneath the surface.
On the palate, intensity reigns. An incredible amount of barrel char and campfire smoke notes dominate, though with enough time some sweetness starts to emerge in the form of maple, vanilla, and dark cocoa powder notes. That’s all so well-hidden under a wall of wood that water is all but mandatory here, and said water manages to soften the wood quite a bit, bringing out new notes of cherry and gingerbread spice, cloves and coffee. Bold, pungent, and chewy even with this addition, Balmorhea is about as far from a “starter whiskey” as you can get — though it is often worth the challenge. 115 proof. 6000 bottles produced. B+ / $140 [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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