grown grains. Masterfully aged in the wild Texas Weather.
Texas Whiskey
at still austin whiskey co. we make our whiskey
ourselves...
nothing brings people together like whiskey
It all started in 2013, Cleveland Seals was looking for a post-retirement project to occupy his time, while his son, Chris Seals was looking for a way to reconnect with his father.
Cleveland, a former executive at Sunkist, had the wild idea to start a whiskey distillery right in the middle of Austin, Texas, and Chris, a former economist, knew all to well how difficult an idea that would be. Ultimately, Chris thought it would be a great way to spend time with his Dad, and the two set off to learn everything they could about making whiskey.
Over the course of the next few years, the...
It also wandered across the globe touring and tasting what the whiskey world had to offer, getting a crash course in whiskey making along the way.
Around this time, as fate would have it, the city of Austin, Texas passed a new bill allowing for legal distilling within the city limits for the first time since prohibition. The stars had aligned, and they went to work assembling a team of experts and visionaries to create what would ultimately become Still Austin Whiskey Co. In 2014, Still Austin opened its doors as the first whiskey distillery in Austin city limits since prohibition, and today, Chris and Cleveland have never been closer.
Cleveland, a former executive at Sunkist, had the wild idea to start a whiskey distillery right in the middle of Austin, Texas, and Chris, a former economist, knew all to well how difficult an idea that would be. Ultimately, Chris thought it would be a great way to spend time with his Dad, and the two set off to learn everything they could about making whiskey.
Over the course of the next few years, the two wandered across the globe touring and tasting what the whiskey world had to offer, getting a crash course in whiskey making along the way.
Around this time, as fate would have it, the city of Austin, Texas passed a new bill allowing for legal distilling within the city limits for the first time since prohibition. The stars had aligned, and they went to work assembling a team of experts and visionaries to create what would ultimately become Still Austin Whiskey Co. In 2014, Still Austin opened its doors as the first whiskey distillery in Austin city limits since prohibition, and today, Chris and Cleveland have never been closer.
TEXAS VS. EVERYONE
Everybody knows that really great whiskey HAS to come from Kentucky, right?
And everybody knows bourbon HAS to come from Bourbon County, right? Right?
Everybody is wrong.
The truth is great whiskey can come from anywhere, and great bourbon can come from anywhere in the United States (as long as you follow the rules).
Dozens of fantastic whiskeys have popped up over the last few years from all over the world, even from places as far away from the U.S. as Australia. As whiskey making has grown more popular, people from all over the world have learned how to make great
whiskey, and Texas is leading the way.
Whiskey tends to take on the flavors and characteristics of the area from which it was made. In wine making, that’s called terroir, and since we make 100% of our whiskey from Texas grown grains, grown by Texas farmers, and aged in the Texas Hill Country, you can be sure that inside every bottle of Still Austin Whiskey is a little taste of our home. (and it tastes great) But don’t just take our word for it.We work with some of the best in the business to fully leverage Texas grown grains and the erratic Central Texas weather to make the best whiskey to ever come out of the state. (and maybe a few others too)
Everybody is wrong.
The truth is great whiskey can come from anywhere, and great bourbon can come from anywhere in the United States (as long as you follow the rules).
Dozens of fantastic whiskeys have popped up over the last few years from all over the world, even from places as far away from the U.S. as Australia. As whiskey making has grown more popular, people from all over the world have learned how to make great whiskey, and Texas is leading the way.
Whiskey tends to take on the flavors and characteristics of the area from which it was made. In wine making, that’s called terroir, and since we make 100% of our whiskey from Texas grown grains, grown by Texas farmers, and aged in the Texas Hill Country, you can be sure that inside every bottle of Still Austin Whiskey is a little taste of our home. (and it tastes great) But don’t just take our word for it.We work with some of the best in the business to fully leverage Texas grown grains and the erratic Central Texas weather to make the best whiskey to ever come out of the state. (and maybe a few others too)
the art of
texas whiskey
Right from the start, we set out to create a different kind of whiskey brand. We wanted to build a brand that reflected the craftsmanship and artistry that goes into making grain to glass whiskey while also representing the vibrant, creative soul of the city from which is was born. Take one look at any of our whiskey labels, and that’s pretty apparent.
Each of our flagship spirit labels features original artwork hand-painted by world-renowned Austin artist, Marc Burkhardt. The Musician, The Artist, and The Naturalist are are all inspired by the archetypes of Austin which share our spirit of creativity.
We mill, mash, distill, barrel, age, and bottle every drop of our whiskey ourselves in Central Texas. This painstaking labor love begins with our grains. 100% of our grains are grown in Texas, by Texas farmers. No grain from any other state or country is ever used in our whiskeys.
Not too many other distilleries are able to make whiskey from grain to glass, and NO other distillery is as dedicated to our level painstaking perfection. As we said before, it might not be the easiest way to make whiskey, but it is the right way. That’s how we make whiskey that’s as beautiful inside as it is out.
Each of our flagship spirit labels features original artwork hand-painted by world-renowned Austin artist, Marc Burkhardt. The Musician, The Artist, and The Naturalist are are all inspired by the archetypes of Austin which share our spirit of creativity.
But as they say, beauty is only skin deep.
We mill, mash, distill, barrel, age, and bottle every drop of our whiskey ourselves in Central Texas. This painstaking labor love begins with our grains. 100% of our grains are grown in Texas, by Texas farmers. No grain from any other state or country is ever used in our whiskeys.
Not too many other distilleries are able to make whiskey from grain to glass, and NO other distillery is as dedicated to our level painstaking perfection. As we said before, it might not be the easiest way to make whiskey, but it is the right way. That’s how we make whiskey that’s as beautiful inside as it is out.
cultivating
Beauty
Our primary grains; white corn, brasetto rye, and wildfire malted barley, are grown throughout North and West Texas, mostly from Lonestar Family Farms. Lonestar is a third generation Texas family farm, focussed on conservation, organic growing and family-oriented business practices. These farmers are setting the bar for family-owned agriculture. While many distilleries use commodity grains like yellow dent corn or Canadian winter wheat, Still Austin’s uses only Texas-grown grains from these farms, which are often organic and always non-GMO.
sustainable barrels
When our whiskey is ready to age, we place it in our sustainably sourced white oak barrels. The barrels are toasted first, and then given a level 3 char. This helps to prime the barrel, making it easier for the whiskey to draw out more desirable flavors from the wood. Charring the barrel releases caramelized wood sugars and aldehydes that give our whiskey its signature, sweet vanilla flavor.
state-of-the-art distillation
Once we’ve milled and mashed our grains, our state-of-the-art column still, Nancy, takes over. Nancy was custom made by world-famous still manufacturer Forsyths in Scotland to the exact specifications of our Master Distiller, Mike Delavonte. Named after the titular character in the cult-cassic sci-fi horror film, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Nancy is so massive, to install her at our distillery, we had to cut a hole in our roof and drop it in with a crane.
taming the wild texas weather
After the whiskey is barreled, we activate our secret weapon, the wild Texas weather. Anyone who’s spent time in Texas knows that our weather swings are that of legend, (our record is 56 degrees in 24 hours). As the old saying here goes, “If you don’t like our weather, wait a minute.”
Through years of trial and error, our Head Distiller, John Schrepel has learned to fully leverage these weather swings and age our whiskey to perfection. With these rapid temperature changes, our whiskey expands and contracts in our barrels at much higher rates than in other climates. It is because of these erratic climate swings, that our whiskeys are able to take on many more complex flavors and characteristics so much quicker than anywhere else.
slow water reduction
As the Texas weather works its magic, as much as 15% of the spirit in the barrel can evaporate in the first year alone. To keep our whiskey in proper balance, our distillers employ an ancient process called slow water reduction or ‘elevage.’ This deeply complex process was developed in the brandy-making regions of Cognac and Armagnac in France and brought to us by our Master Blender, Nancy Fraley, who spent years in this region learning from masters of their craft. During this process, over the course of several months, we constantly monitor and add very small amounts of water to aging barrels to help reduce the impact of smokey phenolic compounds and break down more soluble sugars from the oak.
cultivating
Beauty
Our primary grains; white corn, brasetto rye, and wildfire malted barley, are grown throughout North and West Texas, mostly from Lonestar Family Farms. Lonestar is a third generation Texas family farm, focussed on conservation, organic growing and family-oriented business practices. These farmers are setting the bar for family-owned agriculture. While many distilleries use commodity grains like yellow dent corn or Canadian winter wheat, Still Austin’s uses only Texas-grown grains from these farms, which are often organic and always non-GMO.
sustainable
barrels
When our whiskey is ready to age, we place it in our sustainably sourced white oak barrels. The barrels are toasted first, and then given a level 3 char. This helps to prime the barrel, making it easier for the whiskey to draw out more desirable flavors from the wood. Charring the barrel releases caramelized wood sugars and aldehydes that give our whiskey its signature, sweet vanilla flavor.
state-of-the-art distillation
Once we’ve milled and mashed our grains, our state-of-the-art column still, Nancy, takes over. Nancy was custom made by world-famous still manufacturer Forsyths in Scotland to the exact specifications of our Master Distiller, Mike Delavonte. Named after the titular character in the cult-cassic sci-fi horror film, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Nancy is so massive, to install her at our distillery, we had to cut a hole in our roof and drop it in with a crane.
taming the wild
texas weather
After the whiskey is barreled, we activate our secret weapon, the wild Texas weather. Anyone who’s spent time in Texas knows that our weather swings are that of legend, (our record is 56 degrees in 24 hours). As the old saying here goes, “If you don’t like our weather, wait a minute.”
Through years of trial and error, our Head Distiller, John Schrepel has learned to fully leverage these weather swings and age our whiskey to perfection. With these rapid temperature changes, our whiskey expands and contracts in our barrels at much higher rates than in other climates. It is because of these erratic climate swings, that our whiskeys are able to take on many more complex flavors and characteristics so much quicker than anywhere else.
slow water
reduction
As the Texas weather works its magic, as much as 15% of the spirit in the barrel can evaporate in the first year alone. To keep our whiskey in proper balance, our distillers employ an ancient process called slow water reduction or ‘elevage.’ This deeply complex process was developed in the brandy-making regions of Cognac and Armagnac in France and brought to us by our Master Blender, Nancy Fraley, who spent years in this region learning from masters of their craft. During this process, over the course of several months, we constantly monitor and add very small amounts of water to aging barrels to help reduce the impact of smokey phenolic compounds and break down more soluble sugars from the oak.
