Spirit Of The Week: Garrison Brothers Lady Bird 2026 Cask Strength Bourbon

The beloved Texas distillery finally releases its honey-infused and cognac cask finished beauty in undiluted Cask Strength form.

Deep in the sunbaked expanse of Texas Hill Country, Garrison Brothers Distillery continues to carve out its own hardscrabble identity in American whiskey. For 2026 the distillery revisits one of its most distinctive creations, Lady Bird Bourbon, while elevating the annual release with a new, highly anticipated twist: a limited Cask Strength single barrel, offered for the first time alongside the original.

Named in honor of local legend Lady Bird Johnson, the whiskey remains rooted in a spirit of elegance and environmental reverence. Since its debut in 2023, Lady Bird Bourbon served not only as a showcase of inventive craftsmanship, but also as a vehicle for wild flower conservation. “As Donnis Todd, our Master Distiller, and the entire distilling team developed this bourbon, its floral notes immediately stood out. It felt only right to name it in honor of Lady Bird Johnson who embodied grace, generosity, and a deep connection to the Texas Hill Country,” Nancy Garrison, co-founder of her eponymous distillery, tells Maxim. “I believe Lady Bird Johnson gave us an extraordinary gift. That gift was an appreciation of natural beauty and the importance of preserving it.” 

Fittingly, a portion of every bottle sold benefits the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, a leading force in preserving native plants across North America. That commitment has already translated into more than $100,000 raised—proof that fine whiskey can carry a purpose beyond the glass.

The 2026 edition builds on the expression’s signature complexity. It begins life as Garrison Brothers’ flagship straight “wheated” bourbon (74-percent food-grade white corn / 15-percent soft red winter wheat / 11-percent malted barley), aged six years in new American oak under the intense Texas climate. From there, the whiskey takes a turn toward the unexpected. The process involves miter sawing barrel staves into cubes, and then soaking those wood chips in a solution blending cask strength bourbon and gallons of local Burleson’s wildflower honey. When ready those whiskey-and-honey saturated wood chunks are collected in a cheesecloth ‘teabag’ and steeped in the six-year-old bourbon for 6-8 months. This clever and time-consuming infusion deepens both the bourbon’s texture and its sweetness, and is sold as the Garrison Brothers’ HoneyDew label.

The Lady Bird twist is what happens next: the team then pours the honey-infused spirit into French Cognac XO barrels, where it spends an additional three years refining its character. In total building over a decade of aging—a lifetime in the torrid Lone Star heat that some argue accelerates aging three-fold. The patience, climate and conflation of varied wood and honey results in a layered, expressive bourbon bottled at 67-percent ABV (114-proof), all dressed in a striking Prairie Purple wax seal. 

“This expression is about balance and enhancement,” Nancy continues. “Together they elevate the natural floral notes in the bourbon without overpowering them—it’s a very intentional, elegant combination.”

Master Distiller Todd has described the whiskey as a seamless interplay between honeyed softness and Cognac-driven complexity, and that balance defines the experience. It’s a bourbon that manages to feel both indulgent and composed. However this year’s release also introduces the Lady Bird Cask Strength Single Barrel, an offering designed for enthusiasts seeking an unfiltered, more powerful expression of the same concept.

We were curious, why did it take till the fourth edition of Lady Bird for the team to decide to release the whiskey totally unadulterated, in its purist Cask Strength form? 

“At Garrison Brothers, we let the liquid guide us,” Nancy reveals. “As we looked toward the 2026 release of Lady Bird, we discovered barrels that were so exceptional, they deserved to stand on their own.”

“Some barrels need water, some don’t. We found 13 barrels so pure and expressive that adding water would have been sacrilege. We didn’t even move them when it was raining,” Todd adds. “Our way may not be the most cost efficient way, but we’re 100-percent positive it aligns with our goal of making the best bourbon unapologetically.”

The official Lady Bird 2026 launch begins April 4, 2026, at the Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, where early arrivals will have access to the first bottles. A broader rollout will follow in May across select retailers, bars, and restaurants nationwide, with limited online availability shortly after the initial event. SRP for Lady Bird is $179. 99, and $189.99 for Lady Bird Cask Strength. 

Follow Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.