Our first bourbon, the prerelease of Garrison Brothers Straight Texas Bourbon Whiskey, will be introduced on Texas Independence Day-March 2, 2010. We call it The Young Gun, because it is an aggressive renegade with a defiant nature. It is an unfiltered, 100-proof, one-year-old that will come in a 375 ml half-bottle with a suggested retail price of under $50 a bottle.

The pre-release came off the still "hot" and you can taste it in the bottle. If you let the bourbon breathe before you take your first pour, you'll discover a surprisingly complex nose of gun smoke, caramel, dried cherries, figs, and apricots. But don't let the sweetness fool you. This rebel has a well rounded finish that's crisp, with a little bit of sizzle.

We're happy to have two thousand bottles of the prerelease in our inventory, half of which will be made available to liquor stores in Blanco and Gillespie Counties. We consider it a thank-you present for our friends and neighbors in the Texas Hill Country, especially the electricians, plumbers, masons, and construction workers who have helped us build the distillery. They deserve the first taste. The remaining bottles will be held back as gifts for our friends, supporters, and a few mentors in Kentucky, and for sampling at the distillery.