We are very excited to host a bourbon whisky tasting with Garrison Brothers Distillery on Thursday, August 17, 2023 at 6 pm.

Founded in 2005, Garrison Brothers Distillery is Texas’ first and oldest whiskey distillery. When our bourbon was first introduced in 2010, Garrison Brothers’ Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey™ was the first whiskey ever legally made in Texas.

Your tasting will include the following:

Texas Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whisky | 94 Proof
Every barrel that’s married together to create the Small Batch is at least three years old. Each year, a brand new vintage of this highly-coveted bourbon is released.

Garrison Brothers Single Barrel
Single Barrel Bourbon Whisky | 94 Proof
Visitors can buy a bottle of the Single Barrel, skillfully crafted and bottled at the Distillery. This is the embodiment of unique, authentic bourbon with unparalleled taste.

Garrison Brothers Balmorhea
Twice-Barreled Bourbon Whisky | 115 Proof
Aged four years in new American white oak barrels, then transferred to a second new American white oak barrel and aged an additional year.

Make your reservations today for our Whisky Tasting Tasting. Advance reservations can be made now on OpenTable.com. Please designate Whiskey Society in the reservation notes.

Tickets are $40 per person, plus tax & gratuity. A small, innovative taste of food will be paired with each whisky.

You can call for reservations at 252-838-7250.

We encourage you to make a reservation for dinner at 34° North Restaurant after the tasting.

We will offer a special 15% discounted room rate for the evening of the tasting at the Beaufort Hotel. Advance reservations only! Space is limited!

Please call Kimberly Earp at (252) 838-7245 and she can assist you with room reservations.

Sign up for the Menhaden Whisky Society to be kept abreast of all things whisky related at the Beaufort Hotel!

About the Menhaden Whisky Society

The Menhaden Whisky Society is a nod towards Beaufort’s heritage and rich fishing industry. Menhaden was the fish that built Beaufort.

Menhaden companies in Beaufort provided generations of workers with a dependable livelihood. Menhaden became synonymous with Beaufort.

Menhaden was a year-round fishery in Beaufort, and natives could often smell the fish being reduced in town, calling it “the smell of money”. That smell — was part of Beaufort’s culture and identity. The shad season began in May and lasted through mid-January.

Menhaden were caught in massive nets and then brought to Beaufort for processing. Reduction of menhaden generated products that were ground into fertilizer or minced into meal for cat food and dog food. This fish was also cooked and squeezed to extract their oil for use in paint, linoleum, soap, and Omega-3 dietary supplements.

The North Carolina menhaden fishery flourished up into the late 1960s. Beaufort was no exception. Beaufort Fisheries, Inc. would process about 110,000 pounds of fish meal an hour from start to finish.

In the 1970s, the state’s menhaden fishery began to decline due to a reduction in the numbers of fish and competition from foreign sources.

The last menhaden factory in North Carolina, Beaufort Fisheries, Inc., closed its doors in 2005. A few years later the structure was razed.

Although nothing remains of the structure, an old net reel is located on the grounds of the Beaufort Hotel. This giant net reel has become a lasting icon of the Menhaden Industry in Beaufort.

Today, the Beaufort Hotel sits on the site of the last remaining Menhaden plant in North Carolina.