He paid them in free BBQ, Beer, and of course, Bourbon. The distillery didn’t have any employees to bottle the bourbon they were making, so Dan recruited neighbors and friends from nearby Stonewall, Texas, to help with the bottling. At the time, he didn’t have enough money for a custom bottle. The first release was a one-year-old bourbon called “Young Gun,” sold in a 375 ml bottle that Dan purchased at a discount from a glass plant. After a lot of trial and error and overcoming many challenges, Garrison Brothers sold their first bottle of Bourbon on Texas Independence Day, March 2, 2010. Dan also received a lot of help from his friend and former Whistle Pig Master Distiller Dave Pickerell, who passed away on November 1, 2018. Stagg (now Buffalo Trace), Dan and his first employee worked 24 hours a day in 8-hour shifts for the first three years to reach the point where they could sell their bourbon. Lee, former Master Distiller at George T. Using a 100-gallon Vendome copper pot still that Dan purchased from Elmer T. There is a fantastic write-up about Donnis in Esquire. In addition to distilling, Donnis also understands every aspect of the aging process in the unique climate of Hye, Texas. Dan says that Donnis is the best distiller in the whole country, and without him, the brand would have never survived. Now Donnis runs the entire facility, knows how to fix everything from the plumbing to the electrical lines. Next, the current Master Distiller, Donnis Todd, arrived at the distillery and pitched Dan on hiring him, even though the company’s financial were minimal. Since Dan didn’t have any money and had yet to sell a bottle of Bourbon, his first employee was a retired local carpenter named Fred Cook, that helped build the budlings at the distillery. The distillery received its federal permit in 2007 and the state permit in 2008. At the time, Texas did not view the liquor industry as a growth industry. First, he had to overcome several legal challenges to ensure that he could produce Bourbon in the state of Texas. Dan borrowed money from his dad, brother, and wife to start the brand. Dan just took notes, learned, and finally wrote up a new business plan for what would become Garrison Brothers. Stagg / Buffalo Trace), Eddie and Jimmy Russell (Wild Turkey), and Dave Pickerell (formerly Maker’s Mark). (Maker’s Mark), Craig Beam (Heaven Hill), Harlen Wheatley (Buffalo Trace), Elmer T. Mack introduced Dan to a who’s-who of Kentucky Bourbon’s royalty, including Max Shapiro (Heaven Hill), Bill Samuels Jr. While in Bourbon country, Dan visited nine distilleries and was blown away by the wide selection available.īefore visiting Kentucky, Dan was introduced to a woman nicknamed Mack, who was the former director of marketing for Buffalo Trace and had recently moved from Kentucky to Texas. According to Dan, “All great ideas come from wives who didn’t know what they’re getting themselves into.” Needing to reinvent himself, Dan took this remark as permission from his wife and headed to Kentucky in 2003. This came after Dan was poking fun because his wife drank vodka, which he viewed as tasteless and bland. Dan was a lifelong Bourbon drinker, and his wife told him with as much Bourbon as he drinks, he might as well make the stuff. At the age of 40, Dan Garrison needed to figure out what he would do next to support his family. When his most prominent client, Enron, went bankrupt due to account fraud, ( Book Recommendation) his company also went bankrupt, and Dan, along with 12,000 other Texans, lost his job. Dan Garrison was the Vice President of Marketing for a software company in Austin, Texas, before he created a Bourbon brand.
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