Treaty Oak - Distillery and Winery

 Dripping Springs is just outside of Austin, and it's a place you need to go.  Like, now.  There's good stuff in Dripping Springs, y'all.  Let's start with Treaty Oak.  

Before we get too far in, I want to make sure everyone understands that we visited this spot when it wasn't necessarily at its full potential - Covid changed all the rules, but we still got to see the the sprawling land, peek inside Alice's Restaurant, and taste the goods.  We visited over Fourth of July, and it was pretty warm outside, but that didn't stop folks from grabbing a picnic table and enjoying the live music.  There was an open-air pavilion with a full bar and a restaurant out towards the back, and suffice it to say it was a beautiful spot with lots of big trees and a welcoming, Texas feel.  

Of course we had to try the wine and the whiskey - I mean, that's what we do, right? So we got a flight with everything. Three whiskeys and two wines - but here we will focus on the Texas-produced products. 

We started with wine, one white and one red. 

The white was aptly named Treaty Oak White, and while the name is simple, the flavor profile is less so.  It's a great blend of grapes that grow really well in Texas: 61% Trebbiano, 22% Roussanne, and 17% Voignier.  These varietals, while perhaps not too well-known just yet, are the up-and-comers in Texas.  This white wine was well-balanced and flavorful.  Tropical fruits on the nose, with slight hints of apricot and lemon.  I expected it to be a little more acidic than it was, but it was easy and smooth, a little thin in the mouth, but held up with a nice long finish, leveling out with crisp pear and hints of oak. We dubbed this one a GREAT summer wine and came home with a bunch. 

Next up was Treaty Oak Red, a Texas blend of grenache, tempranillo, merlot, mourvedre, carignan, and petit syrah.  Lots of big grapes with huge flavor profiles.  It was a little lighter in color than I thought it would be, and had brighter ruby color.  In the nose, we came across some smoked woods and dark cherry, and those flavors held up in the mouth.  It finished quickly and the dark cherry and plum really popped at the end. In all, this red was smooth and light, and since it was pretty young, is likely to age well - can't wait to crack open the next bottle in a couple years!

The star of the show at Treaty Oak, as far as I'm concerned anyway, was the Ghost Hill Bourbon.  Comprised of 57% corn, 32% wheat, and 11% malted barley, this full-bodied bourbon rounded out the day nicely.  First couple wafts yielded maple, oak, and a little vanilla in the nose. It smelled sweet and I was expecting a full maple flavor when I tasted it.  But it wasn't nearly as sweet as it smelled - and that's not a disappointment!  There was, though, a nuttiness to it, and maybe even a little banana - I kept thinking, this tastes and smells slightly of banana bread - and on the finish, a toasted walnut came through.  It lingered around for a bit on the finish and brightened up nicely after a few sips. No water, no ice necessary - and I'm here to tell you that while this bourbon is easy to sip and absolutely worth drinking neat, it makes for one hell of an Old Fashioned.  

I hope you'll go out to Treaty Oak next time you're in the area.  We can't wait to go back post-Covid and meet the distillers and wine makers.  There is much more to come from this place, such as private tastings and opportunities to bottle your own stuff straight from the barrel, and we can't wait to share it with you.  

Cheers, y'all!