by Andrew Chalk
Going down to the Hill Country? Visiting Fredericksburg, Johnson City or Blanco? Make a spirited trip to Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye (along the 290 Wine Trail) where they make Texas Bourbon. I delayed a visit until last month. I can tell you, I should have gone earlier. The whole visitor experience at Garrison is superb. Not just the quality of the finished product, although that is crucial, but also all the organisational aspects of the tour. In fact, wine makers could use the Garrison tour as a template of how to do winery tours.
The experience starts on Garrison’s web site, where you reserve your $10 (per person) tour. Tours take place at set times two hours apart Wednesdays through Sundays. The site is straightforward and reliable. In fact, I upped my reservation from two people, to four, and then, a few days later, to six as more friends heard that we were doing it. Each time, the site found my earlier reservation and incremented the number of people, charging me only the additional cost. We kept one reservation number throughout. One thing to bear in mind, no refunds for cancellations. Continue reading
by Steven Doyle
