If you've been following the whiskey world for any period of time, you no doubt have heard the phrases "grain to glass" and "craft distillery". For whiskey enthusiasts, these phrases have a cult-like following as many view the grain to glass designation as the best and only way to truly make whiskey and appreciate the craft involved, beginning to end. While we know that not every distillery has the ability to make this their practice, we certainly appreciate keeping everything in-house when possible. To us, it often improves the quality and overall production of the spirits.
Still Austin Whiskey Company was the brain child of recent retiree Cleveland Seals and he sought the help of his son Chris to explore the reality of whether or not to open a distillery. The pair drew closer, spent a ton of time together, drank a lot of whiskey, had deep conversations and eventually arrived to the decision that the Texas hill country needed a distillery.. But not just any distillery. They wanted to craft a product that was completely representative of the area, with local sourced grains and the ability to oversee what goes into every bottle from start to finish.
We had the opportunity to explore two of Still Austin's cask strength offerings - their bourbon and their rye whiskey. The bourbon has a minimum of a 2 year age statement while the rye isn't disclosed just yet. For you whiskey snobs, you've probably already clicked off of this article after reading the previous sentence. But if you were patient and openminded enough to stick around, let us just say this: color. Look at the color. Do these bottles look like they've been sitting in char #3 barrels for only 2 years? Nope. That's the beauty of the hill country weather. The fluctuations, going from one extreme to another, really give the barrels a work out and many people argue that the whiskey tends to age in half the time as many other parts of the country. Let's take a look!
The
Still Austin Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey is an enchanting, pecan-colored whiskey featuring an eye-catching label of "The Musician", created by Austin artist Marc Burkhardt. Burkhardt creates all of the original label which adds to the appeal. The mash bill contains Texas grains consisting of white corn (70%), rye (25%) and malted barley (5%). First aromas feel like we are in grandma's kitchen as she whips up some homemade biscuits with fresh blackberry jam. There's a lovely minty and sweetness that arrives after some time out of the bottle and in the glass. On the palate we noticed reduced brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ripe stone fruits and mint. The finish was very warm and the mint really came through. Thoroughly impressed with this. Still Austin's first bottle release of any spirit was in 2020 during the height of Covid. We really hope they are keeping some barrels in storage as we would love to see what a 6, 8 or 10 year Still Austin would taste like (assuming the Angel's Share wouldn't grab all of the liquid!).
ABV: 59.0% (118 proof)
Distillery: Still Austin Whiskey
Suggested retail price: $60.00
Drink The Bottles score: 94/100
The
Still Austin Cask Strength Rye Whiskey is an inviting hickory-colored and aromatic whiskey that is mouth-watering and beautiful. Made from 100% Texas rye, this is a blend of the best-of-the-best rye barrels from Master Blender Nancy Fraley. If you know the name, you know her work and there were not shortcuts here. This is beautiful. Berry pie, cinnamon and tropical fruits on the nose. Mint, pencil shavings, lemon meringue, whip creeme and almond cookies with plenty of spice on the tongue. There is a hint of mint and apricots on the very long and satisfying finish. Rye fans, you'll want to get your hands on this!
ABV: 58.0% (116 proof)
Distillery: Still Austin Whiskey
Suggested retail price: $65.00
Drink The Bottles score: 93/100
