Sips & Sites & Bites

Texas’ Garrison Brothers Distillery recently hosted their Winner Winner Chicken Dinner, an annual fundraiser. And this year, the sold-out, bourbon-centric event benefited Panhandle Proud, an organization uniting Texans to provide urgent relief and sustained support for farmers and ranchers devastated by wildfires in the Texas Panhandle. 

More than $100,000 was raised at this year’s event, a record setting amount raised for any Garrison Brothers Distillery fundraiser to date. Garrison Brothers then extended their fundraising efforts for the entire month post-event with special limited-edition bourbon bottles for sale. Those additional funds are now being added to the final total. 

The event was hosted in Hye, Texas, home of Garrison Brothers Distillery, and more than 500 folks showed up for the fried chicken dinner and auction. There was live music from local musician Noah Kurtis Band and auction items included 16 painted barrels donated by local Austin artists along with more than 70 items donated by local Hill Country businesses. US Foods donated more than 1,000 pounds of chicken for the fried chicken dinner while Alstadt Brewery donated dozens of cases of beer.

“The Texas Panhandle is the great breadbasket of American agriculture,” said Dan Garrison, founder of Garrison Brothers Distillery and Panhandle Proud. “Garrison Brothers and authentic Texas whiskey producers purchase their grain from producers, coops and malting houses located there. Panhandle residents are tough as nails. They keep coming back after semi-annual fires, tornadoes and drought. Bless them for their resilience, faith and determination, and let’s help them rebuild.”

The distillery will continue to raise money for Panhandle Proud at The Whiskey Shack restaurant and Garrison Brothers gift shop with a month-long campaign featuring special cocktails, menu items and promotional items with all proceeds benefiting the cause.

Garrison Brothers Distillery, a small farm and ranch located in the Texas Hill Country, introduced the first bourbon whiskey legally made in Texas in 2010 and they currently have a wait list of more than 18,000 just to volunteer on bottling days. Every expression of Garrison Brothers bourbon is made from a sweet mash bill and barrel-aged in the intense Texas climate. 

Garrison Brothers Distillery and its barrel barns are open to the public for tours in Hye, Texas. To find out more about Garrison Brothers Bourbon, check out garrisonbros.com or their socials @garrisonbros.