142: What is Driving the Texas Whiskey Boom?

Texas Whiskey is a growing category looking to make its mark in the world of American Whiskey and Kentucky Bourbon. We’re joined by Nico Martini, who just published his book Texas Whiskey, an ever-evolving chronicle and guidebook of the “history” and people of Texas Whiskey. Nico is also co-founder of Grayson Whiskey, author of Texas Cocktails, and a lover of all things Texas. Grayson Whiskey is a blend of Texas bourbon and wheat whiskies and just hit the shelves only a few months ago after a successful launch.

In this episode, we taste Grayson Texas Blended Bourbon Batch 1, which is coming in at 3 years old and 119.4 proof. Batch 1 contains whiskey from Ironroot Republic Distilling, Balcones Distilling, and Five Points Distilling, the makers of Lone Elm Whiskey.  As you’ll hear in the episode, after selling out Batch 1, Grayson will release Batch 1B in October 2020.  Batch 1B will contain the same distilleries and same percentage blend as the original batch, but some variation is expected.  On March 2, 2022, Grayson will release Batch 2, featuring 4 distilleries; with the addition of Still Austin.

A huge thank you to Nico Martini for the opportunity to try the whiskey, check out his book, and to Cider Mill Press for the review copy of the book.

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Scott, Jake, & Michael
Bourbon Lens

The Story of Grayson Whiskey:

Texas in a bottle. Our goal was to create a bourbon that blended some of the best whiskeys in our state, in a way that had never been done before. For us, Texas whiskey is the epitome of innovation and in Grayson, we honor the diversity and creativity of our great state. Grayson embodies the spirit of Texas in both your glass and in your soul. Grayson is bold, brazen, bona fide, and, above all else, uniquely Texan. We hope that the beginning of our story can be a highlight in yours. Grayson tonight, Texas forever. Cheers, y’all. 

Our goal from the beginning was to highlight the work of some of the best distillers in the great state of Texas in a collaboration that truly represents our home. The first step was to reach out to The Likirish Brothers, Robert and Jonathan, at Ironroot Republic Distilling, because we knew they were blending some of the best whiskey in Texas. After long discussions about what was important to us about whiskey, which flavors profiles we were most interested in, and a discussion of the myriad of ways to achieve the flavor we were looking for, Jonathan then took our ideas and he started developing different paths to our version of Texas in a bottle.

About the Whiskey:

Grayson is a blend of straight Texas whiskeys. When we began to search for the distilleries we, both, wanted to work with and believed could add the layers of complexity we were hoping for. Batch one of Grayson contains some of our favorite Texas distilleries, including Ironroot Republic Distilling, Balcones Distilling, and Five Points Distilling, the makers of Lone Elm Whiskey. Grayson is a blend of 100% straight whiskies that are 100% Texan. Jonathan began creating a series of sample blends of carefully selected single barrels that accentuated specific flavors in each distillery's whiskey. We worked with our distillery partners to hand select every barrel that has gone into this batch. There were barrels selected that were up to 7 years old but everything in Grayson is at least 3 years. We then sought to integrate and balance the overall blend while maintaining the flavors we curated initially. Then, the whiskey was vatted and allowed to marry for a few months prior to bottling. 

With the help of some incredible friends, we hand labeled and hand bottled Grayson in late March. It’s a labor of love, for sure, but it’s also worth every bit of effort. 

Tasting Notes from Grayson:

• Nose: Raisins, barrel aged maple syrup, Beignet flavored coffee grounds, jalapeño jelly, and a hint of the inside of new cowboy boots.
• Palate: Super sweet initially with syrupy waffle notes, moves into a spiced cider with allspice, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, brown butter into an almost burnt pecan, sweet wheat and fennel finish. 
• Proof: 119.4

About Nico Martini Co-founder of Grayson Whiskey

Born and raised in Texas, Nico Martini is a Best-Selling Author of the 2018 release, Texas Cocktails, Author of Texas Whiskey, releasing in July, Co-founder of Bar Draught, a mobile draught cocktail solutions and most recently, Co-Founder of Grayson Blended Bourbon.

Over the years, Martini has become a thought leader and innovator within the Texas spirits industry. He has presented at numerous trade events, including San Antonio Cocktail Conference, the Bar Institute, several United States Bartender's Guild conferences and Portland Cocktail Week.

Martini holds a master’s degree in Emerging Media & Communications from the University of Texas at Dallas. He has been a Guest Lecturer at the university from 2009 through 2014, where he taught Digital Marketing Design and Self-Branding Through Social Media.

Prior to his transition to spirits, Martini worked in a wide variety of fields. He was a Program Director and on-air talent for CBS Radio's Indie-verse 100.3 HD2 in Dallas, toured the U.S. with jugglers, The Flying Karamzov Brothers, performed in wild west comedy shows across the nation, and worked in the indie film industry. A true creative and man of many talents, Martini attributes his background in theatre and varied interests to his well-rounded and positive outlook on the world. Nico currently lives in Dallas with his wife, Sarah, and sons Beckett and Declan. His second book, Texas Whiskey, released in July 2021.

Links:

• Grayson Whiskey
• Grayson Whiskey on Instagram
• Follow Nico on Instagram
• Nico Martini for American Whiskey Magazine - Texas whiskey's diverse creations
• Follow Texas Whiskey Book on Instagram
• Follow Cider Mill Press (Publisher) on Instagram
• Buy The Book - Texas Whiskey by Nico Martini (Highly Recommend)
• Texas in a bottle: State pride shines in new spirits offerings
• Toward a Definition of Texas Whiskey
• ‘Texas Whiskey’ Is a Fanatic’s Guide to the Good Stuff
• Ironroot Republic Distillery
• Lone Elm Whiskey – Five Points Distilling – Whiskey and Vodka Distillery in Forney, Texas
• Balcones Distilling: The Original Texas Whisky - Waco, TX
• TexasMonthly.com - The Great Texas Whiskey Boom
• The Texas Whiskey Association: Home
• Certified Texas Whiskey™
• Texas whiskey: What it is and how it's making a name for itself 
• The Texas whiskey boom continues with three new releases
• How Texas' Oldest Legal Whiskey Distillery Perfects Its Craft
• NY Times on Chip Tate and Balcones Distillery - How Dreams and Money Didn’t Mix at a Texas Distillery 
• The Terroir of Whiskey: A Distiller's Journey Into the Flavor of Place (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History)
• American Single Malt Whiskey Commission