Sips & Sites & Bites

As we celebrate women in distilling this month, the spotlight shines on the Texas distillery Garrison Brothers. And even though it has the word “brothers” in its name, the family business sports a team that’s more than 60% female, including co-founder Nancy Garrison and Distiller Samantha Olvera.

A press release from Garrison Bros notes that Distiller Samantha (Sam) Olvera is also the first female bourbon distiller in Texas, and could be the first Latina in the nation making bourbon.

March is the month to celebrate Women’s History Month, and Olvera is part of an ever-growing group of female distillers making history. 

She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and comes from a family of female medical professionals … a career route she set out on. She attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi and received her Associates Degree in Respiratory Therapy.

Then, as she explained, her plan did not go as expected.

In 2012, Olvera was managing a bar in Hye, Texas, just down the road from Garrison Brothers Distillery. The distillers would frequent her bar on their off-time and shared with her stories of their days and work. Her interest was piqued. When a job opened at the distillery, she said she knew it was an opportunity she had to take, even though she didn’t know the first thing about how to make bourbon.

Olvera learned from Garrison Brothers’ Master Distiller Donnis Todd, starting as a mash cooker where she perfected the art of making Garrison Brothers’ mash, a year-long process. 

She then spent a year shadowing each distiller, followed by an additional six-month training program with the master distiller. By the end of her training, she was able to determine by smelling, feeling, and looking at the raw distillate what part of the run she was on.

Today, Olvera is a Distiller and the Mash House Boss at Garrison Brothers. She’ll soon celebrate her 10-year anniversary at the Distillery. She helps train the newest members at the distillery, a distilling team that now numbers 14 people and distills 24 hours a day to keep up with demand.

In 2023, Sam Olvera was recognized as Best Woman Distiller 2023 by the International Women’s Spirits Competition.

Check out Olvera’s handiwork and much more at www.garrisonbros.com.