Garrison Brothers Honeydew
Garrison Brothers Honeydew. Photo via Garrison Bros. Website
From Garrison Bros:
Our award-winning Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey, infused with Burleson’s Texas Wildflower Honey, resulting in a smooth, light bourbon with a sweet honey finish. Our Master Distiller transformed used bourbon barrels into small, wooden cubes that were immersed in honey. After fully absorbing it, they were placed in the belly of a stainless-steel tank, letting the bourbon soak up those delicious honey flavors every single day for seven months.
Garrison Brothers Honeydew: Specs
Classification: Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey infused with Wildflower Honey
Origin: Garrison Brothers Distillery
Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Age: NAS (Noted 4+Y)
Garrison Brothers Honeydew Price: $90 (MSRP)
Garrison Brothers Honeydew: Tasting Notes
Eye: Dark cooked caramel. No rims, droplets and sloughed liquid seeps to the bottom.
Nose: Sweet-heat nose. Bourbon for sure but there’s a sweet and smoky backbone. I swear there’s rye grain here, if only a little, as its grain and spice show up first before the corn does. Oak woodiness presents once the honey does.
Palate: Tip-of-the-tongue heat that hits hard at first and rolls through the whole palate. The honey isn’t too sweet - it’s heavily spiked with cinnamon and clove. There’s that odd Ricola note I get again, but it kinds of works here. While not too sweet on its own, the honey keeps the heat in check very well. Mouthfeel is quite good - there’s a coating heat followed by the spiced honey resulting in a medium-body that develops the sweet/heat balance in a new way.
Finish: Finish is really where the honey shines. The proof slowly dissipates while the honey lingers for a medium length finish.
Overall: Like drinking black tea and honey when you’re sick (or a Hot Toddy), this is surprisingly comforting and uses the honey as a solid piece of the flavor profile, not as a gimmick. Makes you want to go back for another sip.
Final Rating: 6.8
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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