The 10th Texas Whiskey Festival is coming, and we’ve been working on something special for it.
If you’ve been following along on social media, you may have noticed a few whiskey picks lately. They’re connected.
For more than a year, we’ve been working in the background on a whiskey for Year 10. Not a barrel pick from a single distillery, but a whiskey built from selections across multiple Texas distilleries.
And not just any distilleries.
Each of these distilleries has been part of the Texas Whiskey Festival since the beginning, joining us for every festival over the past decade. They've helped shape the festival into what it is today, and it only seems fitting that they help us celebrate ten years by creating something together.
We know what we’re making.
What we don’t know yet is exactly what it will become.
Instead of beginning with a finished flavor profile and searching for whiskies to fit it, we’re doing almost the opposite. We’re choosing individual whiskies we find interesting—whiskies with distinctly different flavors and personalities—and figuring out where they take us.
And we aren’t choosing them alone.
The distillers involved in Blend X are invited to join us for each selection. With schedules, production, and the realities of running a distillery, not everyone can make every stop. But those who can, show up.
That means every selection brings a slightly different group of people—and palates—to the table. We taste together, talk through what we’re finding, and decide which whiskies deserve to keep moving forward.
Blend X isn’t simply being made with whiskey from several Texas distilleries. The people behind those distilleries are helping shape it along the way. And that makes the whiskey a little more special.
Of course, choosing whiskies together doesn't mean we always agree. Sometimes the best decision is to carry more than one forward and let the blending table settle the debate.
As it turns out, we've been doing quite a bit of that.
Selection No. 1 — Andalusia Whiskey Co.
Our first stop was Andalusia Whiskey Co., where we tasted through a range of single malts spanning different ages and flavor profiles.
We couldn’t settle on just one.
So we didn’t.
Two very different single malts are moving forward to the blending table. Both earned the chance to be part of Blend X, but ultimately only one will make the final whiskey.
Which one? We need the rest of the whiskey on the table before we can answer that.
Selection No. 2 — Still Austin Whiskey Co.
Next up was Still Austin Whiskey Co., and they pulled out the stops.
We tasted bourbons and ryes with dramatically different personalities, looking for the whiskey that should represent Still Austin in Blend X.
Once again, there wasn’t a single answer.
A bourbon and a rye are both coming with us to the blending table. They offer very different possibilities for the finished whiskey, and I’m excited to see which direction wins once we start putting all of these pieces together.
Selection No. 3 — Milam & Greene Whiskey
Our third stop took us to Milam & Greene in Blanco, where they came ready to play.
We tasted some amazing bourbons distilled and aged right there in Blanco for more than seven years. Each brought something different to the table, making the decisions anything but easy.
We're carrying two selections forward, and we can't wait to see how they play with the other whiskies when blending begins.
Selection No. 4 — Balcones Distilling
Next up was Balcones Distilling, where a lineup of malt whiskies made choosing just one nearly impossible.
So, in what is becoming a familiar pattern, we didn't.
Two selections are heading to the blending table. One is an exceptional single malt. The other? Well, it's a little funky.
And why not? We're not trying to make something predictable.
Selection No. 5 — Ironroot Republic Distilling
Our fifth stop brought us to Ironroot Republic Distilling, and by now, a pattern had clearly emerged.
Two selections from each distillery. So why change things now?
The problem was narrowing them down. Ironroot brought plenty to the table, and choosing just two was no easy task.
But we did it. Two more whiskies are moving forward, bringing our collection of candidates to ten.
Next Stop: The Blending Table
Five distilleries. Ten selections. One whiskey to make.
We've spent months visiting distilleries, tasting some remarkable Texas whiskies, and making decisions that weren't always easy. Or, as it turns out, sometimes deciding not to decide just yet.
Now comes the interesting part.
Each whiskey earned its place on its own merits. But being a great whiskey on its own doesn't necessarily mean it will play well with the others.
The distillers will come together again, this time with a different challenge. Instead of choosing individual whiskies, we'll be figuring out how to turn them into something none of us could have made alone.
Will the unexpected combinations surprise us? Will the whiskies we thought were obvious choices make the final cut? Will that funky one from Balcones find its place?
We don't know. That's part of the fun.
Eventually, they all have to find a way to work together.
And that's where we're headed next.
