There might not be a better time to hit the road and explore the Lone Star State’s craft distilleries.
We’ve put together a refreshing itinerary of Texas spirits producers. But, first, don’t forget your designated driver.
Desert Door Distillery
Agave-based spirts like mezcal, tequila, and raicilla are categorized by place of origin. In other words, to be classified as such, tequila can only be produced in certain parts of Mexico. Think of them as you would Champagne. That’s not the case with agave cousin sotol. Known as “desert spoon” in English, the sotol plant is indigenous to northern Mexico (where sotol is the state drink of Chihuahua, Durango, and Coahuila), New Mexico, and Texas. It’s found growing wild across the Lone Star State, including alongside the grapevines of the Texas Hill Country, and it’s noted as the first distillate consumed in what is now Texas, 800 years ago.
It is in Driftwood, in the midst of the Hill Country, that military veteran-established Desert Door Distillery produces two sotol expressions: the herbaceous original and the floral oak-aged sotol. “We want to reintroduce Texans to the original spirit of Texas,” says Cortney Hickey, Desert Door’s marketing manager. She explains the distillery began with three business partners knocking on West Texas ranchers’ doors and asking to harvest the wild sotol. “It’s a nuisance plant. It’s a water sucker,” Hickey says. “And water being a precious resource in West Texas, everyone saw an opportunity in sotol.” After the sotol is processed and distilled, the leftovers are returned to the ranchers for cattle feed.
But back in Driftwood, the tasting room is a welcoming, rustic space evocative of the plant’s local roots and a casual spot to enjoy a sip of the spirit neat or in a cocktail, such as the one at left. Desert Door sotol is only available at Texas spirits retailers, like Spec’s, but if everything goes to plan, a taste of Old Texas will be avilable outside the Lone Star State soon enough. desertdoor.com
Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co.
We’d describe Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co.’s 112-acre Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters as a whiskey wonderland. The distillery officially calls it the Whiskey Ranch and has developed it on the grounds of the historic Glen Garden golf course. The property includes a 2,000-square-foot merchandise store, a bar and tasting room, an event space called the Oak Room, a bottling house, and — of course — a back porch, perfect for sipping fingers of whiskey or enjoying a cocktail like the Lavender Palmer (see recipe at right), a sweet, floral tipple that’s about as fine a porch drink as any. frdistilling.com
Balcones Distilling
Established in Waco, Texas, in 2008, Balcones was the first Texas distillery to distill and bottle its whiskey in-state, and it’s racked up accolade after accolade ever since. Perhaps its most famed release is Baby Blue Corn Whisky. Made from roasted blue corn and expressing notes of bright fruits, chiles, and cotton candy, Baby Blue is a potent spirit with a long, peppery finish. It’s bold and it’s complex. It’s not the only stellar Balcones whiskey. There are five others in the flagship line, ranging from the silky single malt to the campfire-in-a-bottle Brimstone. balconesdistilling.com
Seersucker Distillery
Seersucker Distillery’s six white-picket-fence-lined acres of Texas country will have you disbelieving the bustle of downtown San Antonio and the city’s River Walk is but a 20-minute drive away. But it’s here at the year-old distilling and bottling facility where you’ll sip on gin flights and refreshing gin-based tipples like the fizzy, grapefruit-forward Salty Dog, whiling away the hours on a wraparound porch or trying your hand at lawn games. Can’t make it out to the San Antonio distillery? Mix up a few of the cocktails shared on this page. seersuckergin.com
Desert Paloma
Courtesy Desert Door Texas Sotol
1½ ounces Desert Door Original Sotol
1½ ounces grapefruit juice
½ ounce lime juice
½ ounce agave nectar
1 cap full grapefruit shrub
Sparkling water, optional
1 grapefruit wheel, for garnish
Combine all ingredients in shaker. Add ice. Shake vigorously. Fine strain in rocks glass filled with fresh ice or into a coupe glass. Optionally, top with sparkling water. Garnish with grapefruit wheel.
Marfarita
Courtesy Desert Door Texas Sotol
1 ounce Desert Door Original Sotol
1 ounce triple sec liqueur
1½ ounces lime juice
½ ounce orange juice
½ ounce agave nectar
1 lime wedge, for garnish
Combine all ingredients in shaker. Add ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into glass with fresh ice. Garnish with Lime Wedge.
The Fancie
Courtesy Desert Door Texas Sotol
1 ounce Desert Door Original Sotol
1 ounce St. Germain
1 ounce lemon juice
½ ounce agave nectar
Sparkling water
1 dash salt
Combine sotol, St. Germaine, lemon juice, and agave nectar in shaker. Add ice. Shake vigorously. Fine strain in low ball glass. Top with sparkling water and a dash of salt.
Lavender Palmer
Courtesy Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co.
2 ounces TX Whiskey
2½ ounces tea
¾ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce lavender simple syrup (recipe follows)
Combine all ingredients in a glass and stir to mix. Add ice.
Lavender Simple Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup dried lavender flowers
Bring water to a boil while stirring. Add sugar and lavender flowers. Simmer 10 minutes while stirring. Strain.
Seersucker Boulevard Special
Courtesy Seersucker Distillery
2 ounces Seersucker Southern Style Grapefruit Gin
¾ ounce grapefruit juice
¼ ounce grenadine
Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake well. Pour into a coupe glass
Seersucker Seabreeze
Courtesy Seersucker Distillery
2 ounces Seersucker Southern Style Grapefruit Gin
½ ounce unsweetened cranberry juice
1 ounce grapefruit juice
3 ounces Topo Chico mineral
Water
Pour Seersucker Southern Style Grapefruit Gin, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice over ice in preferred glass. Top with a splash of Topo Chico. Stir gently.
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Photography: John Davidson/Courtesy Desert Door Distillery, Truitt Rogers/Courtesy Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co., Noah Acevedo/Courtesy Seersucker Distillery, Courtesy Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co., Courtesy Seersucker Distillery
From the April 2019 issue.
