Let me be the first to say that I, like many, knew nothing
about the micro distilling community. I suppose that sounds a bit discrediting,
given that this article is published on a website that focuses mainly on that particular
aspect of craft culture. So the Texas on the Rocks craft spirit tasting, held this past
Valentine’s Day, was an amazing learning experience for me; and overall, I had
a blast.
I came
into the event expecting it to be heavily politicized with the distillers
competing against one another in some bacchanalian shootout. I was
hoping to report from a war zone. Tribes of shiners going shot for shot with
one another, much akin to the Hatfield and McCoy rivalry. I wanted to see
blood. I had checked in far too early, taken note of the giant
teepee in the corner of the Austin Music Hall, and found a smattering of
Comanche garb. Boy was I excited to see these legendary warriors of the Texas plains.
This
was it! Gun powder was going to flavor the air. Smoke was going to billow from
the hall. Blood was going to coat the walls and drip from the ceiling, and I
was going to be standing in the middle of it all. Spur clad cowboys were armed
with rifles and bullwhips. Obsidian spears and warhawks were racked at the
Comanche camp. It was set to be 1840 all over again. I was so excited for the savagery
that veins were bulging from my neck in vigorously eager anticipation.
Six o’clock rolls around, and I
can’t wait to see who fires the first shot. I surveyed the chaos but
all I found were people shaking hands and expressing joy. Turns out, there were
no savage blood feuds requiring righteous retaliation. The evening was
rather cordial. It struck me as an Appalachian family reunion, where everyone
brought their own homemade liquor to the potluck.
Dan Garrison of Garrison Brothers played
host to the event, and put out the best Texas bred bourbon to cross my lips.
Treaty Oak had the prettiest gin at the dance. It was aged in bourbon barrels. Somehow they had found a way to make straight gin taste good.
The vodkas had a solid showing as
well. Deep Eddy was on hand. Cinco Vodka out of San Antonio was a nice
surprise. I had never heard of them, and their product was remarkable. To be
honest, I’m not a huge fan of vodka. But the first vodka I tried changed my
whole perspective on the drink. Tito’s Vodka was incredible. So smooth that it
feels like you’re drinking some crazy non-Newtonian fluid. Tito’s was the first
vodka to really rock my world. And fitting in with Austin’s health conscious
approach to indulgence, it’s distilled from corn. THAT SHIT IS
GLUTEN-ASS-FREE!!!
Growing up in the punk scene of
Houston, I’d developed a taste for cheap, shitty whiskey, and tequila.
Redemption’s Riverboat Rye captures the essence of those glorious days without
sacrificing any flavor. It’s a young whiskey, aged for only a year; but goddamn
is it good. As for the tequila, you just need to remember three numbers: 5-1-2.
Distilled in Mexico, and bottled in Austin; this shit destroys its overpriced
competitors. At this price, you hardly feel guilty about pounding a bottle with
your aberrant cohorts in just a few tips. Fuck Patron. Tequila 512 is under
twenty five dollars a bottle and tastes better.
Lately I’ve grown up, and grown
fond of mezcal. As Reverend Horton Heat put it, loco gringos like a party.
Catmezcal is definitely a party all on its own. It’s as if a scotch and a tequila
made some terrible decisions together, and birthed the perfect balance between
what you’ve come to enjoy from both of those worlds. Catmezcal Anejo is savory
and smoky, with a nice bite and a smooth finish. I could drink this stuff until my
blood type was sangria.
All told, Texas on the Rocks was
the perfect introduction to the world of Texas craft spirits. The vendors were friendly
and informative, and the crowd rather congenial, given that it was a room full
of Texans with access to as much booze as they could drink. I can only assume
that, like any good whiskey, this preeminent tasting event will only improve
with time.
Michael R. McBride is a former punk from Houston, Texas. He now spends his time operating as a freelance writer in that bastion of iniquity known as Austin.
