Texas Distilleries Support Kerr County Flood Relief Efforts

Update 7/17: Another distillery that calls Texas Hill Country home, Milam & Greene, is contributing to relief efforts through bottle sales at its Blanco-based distillery, online, and at Texas-based retailer Spec’s Wine and Foods. Through July 31st, 15% of net bottle sales will be donated to the Community Foundation of Texas Hill Country. For patrons who purchase one or both of the label’s two rare, cask strength blended bourbons under the Unabridged Series, 50% of the proceeds will be donated. Additionally, the label has pledged $20.00 per bottle sold at Spec’s Wine and Foods to benefit Texas Pets Alive!, a non-profit that supports displaced pets and reunites them with loved ones during times of disaster.

The “once-in-a-century” flooding that struck Kerr County in Texas Hill Country this past weekend saw the waters of the Guadalupe River rise to nearly 30 feet within just 45 minutes in the predawn hours of July 4^th, devastating the area and causing major loss of life. The catastrophe prompted an outpouring of responses and support across the state—not just from government agencies, but also from Lone Star businesses, including whiskey makers.

Hye-based Garrison Brothers is located just 50 miles from where the flooding occurred. The distillery was set to host a launch party this coming Saturday, July 12th, for its Guadalupe bourbon, the prized annual release that happens to be named after the flooded river. In light of the tragedy, the distillery is now turning the event into a flood relief fundraiser.

The Saturday event will be spearheaded by Good Bourbon for a Good Cause, a nonprofit entity that Garrison Brothers set up in 2018. At the event, 1,000 bottles of the cask-strength single barrel expression will be available from 8 a.m. onward, with $50 from each sale going directly to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which created the Kerr County Relief Fund. On-site donations made at the distillery will also be accepted, and distillery owners and staff will match the first $10,000 received. All profits raised from sales of food and drinks at the Whiskey Shack, the distillery’s on-site restaurant, and its gift shop will also be donated to flood relief efforts.

If you aren’t local to Hye, Texas, Good Bourbon for a Good Cause has also put together an online donation site. Thus far, they’ve raised just shy of $20,000, about a fifth of their $100,000 goal.

In addition to Garrison Brothers, Dripping Springs-based Treaty Oak Distilling is collecting donations throughout the week from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at its distillery, and has organized both plane and tow truck travel to bring physical donation items down to Kerr County. Over in Shiner, Texas, K. Spoetzl Brewery & Distillery has donated $100,000 to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, and is planning to donate proceeds from sales made at its on-site barbecue restaurant, K. Spoetzel BBQ Co., on Sunday, July 13th.