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Proofhounds, take note: Texas distillery Garrison Brothers released a new 2025 edition of its annual Cowboy Bourbon earlier this month, and once again this whiskey has skyrocketed into hazmat-whiskey territory. That means it’s bottled above 140 proof (and therefore banned from being brought on board by the FAA), and this edition rises above that limit to 146.4 proof.
Garrison Brothers was the first legal whiskey distillery to operate in the Lone Star State when it was founded in 2006 in the town of Hy just outside of Austin. It released its first bourbon in 2010, a wheat expression, and has since focused on distilling this type of bourbon, which uses wheat as a secondary flavoring grain instead of rye. Garrison Brothers’ whiskey, even when it’s not bottled at hazmat levels, is intense in flavor. This is because the distillery uses barrels of various sizes, from standard 53-gallon casks to much smaller ones, and ages its whiskey in a climate that is extremely hot and dry for much of the year. The former means that more of the surface area of the whiskey is exposed to the wood, and the latter means that the maturation process is accelerated as the liquid expands through the pores of the barrel during periods of intense heat.
Cowboy Bourbon was first released in 2013, making this year the 11th release of this particular expression. According to Master Distiller Donnis Todd, this year’s whiskey is at least eight years old and was selected from barrels that were kept for long periods of aging in the extreme climate of Texas. “It’s strong and mean at first, but every flavor makes your mouth water, and if you’re not careful, you’ll start to roll,” Todd said in a statement. “The flood of warmth never ends. Layered dried fruit and toasted marshmallows – this is a Texas chaser you can’t stop sipping.”
As mentioned earlier, this whiskey is very, very strong at 146.4 proof, or just over 73 percent ABV. Compare that to your average bottle, which typically hovers at less than 100 proof, or 50 percent ABV (legally whiskey must be bottled at at least 80 proof). We’ve repeated the mantra many times before that age doesn’t necessarily indicate quality, and the same can be said for proof. Drinking cask-strength bourbon can be a great experience, allowing you to control the amount of dilution in your particular flavor and enjoy an experience that’s as close to getting straight from the barrel as you can get. But recently some releases are going a little overboard, with distilleries and brands like Jack Daniel’s, A. Smith Bowman, and Barrelcraft Spirits entering the world of hazmat.
Still, there’s only one way to decide if a super-strong whiskey is right for you. Cowboy Bourbon is available now (SRP $250) at specialty retailers nationwide, and you can find past releases and the rest of the Garrison Brothers portfolio on websites like Reserve Bar.
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