Ranger Creek’s Second Saturday Open House

Every second Saturday of the month from 2-5pm, Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling @rangercreek hosts a lively open house. For $8 ($5 if you bring back your glass), they provide three beers, or two beers and a bourbon sample. Strong and smoky whiskeys don’t usually pass my lips, but I had to taste this small-batch, carefully crafted sample.

A rowdy crowd (watching the Florida/A&M game) filled the small tasting room, so we moved into the brewhouse to stake out our spot. Bruce beelined for the two food trucks (Spice Runner @spice_runner and Say She Ate @SaySheAteTX), and I procured beer. Say She Ate’s decadent duck fat fries with bleu cheese melted in the mouth. The Jamaican jerked ribs from Spice Runner fell off the bone. Their pita wrap with an African spice braise had a warm flavor with a hint of cinnamon.

Say She Ate's Akaushi sliders and duck fat fries

Ranger Creek focuses on the relationship between beer and whiskey or bourbon, making them unique amongst distillers and brewers.

We received only a small portion of bourbon (crazy arcane Texas ABC rules), but enough to savor the aroma and taste. Mark talked us through a four-part tasting. Step one: appearance. The bourbon had a rich copper/amber hue. It takes on a deep color in only nine months, since it ages in small, five-gallon barrels. Step 2: aroma. He suggested a small sniff, since bourbon has a significantly higher alcohol content than wine. I smelled caramel and charred oak. Steps 3 and 4: taste and finish. The bourbon felt warm as it went down and tasted much like it smelled, with honey and spice notes. 

Ranger Creek uses 70% corn (locally grown), 16% unmalted rye, and 14-15% barley. All bourbons are produced in the US and aged in a brand-new oak barrel. (They next use the barrels for other whiskeys or beer. Their much-anticipated Imperial Porter, aged in former bourbon barrels, comes out this fall.)   The Texas weather greatly affects aging (their brewhouse is not climate controlled), so batch 9 can taste totally different than batch 6 (all labels include clearly marked batch numbers). We promptly visited Spec’s and picked up a bottle for a special occasion.

I foresee two issues as this event gains popularity. They have a large facility and open outside area, but it filled quickly. The fire department might object to the number of people at some point. And the tasting room has only one restroom, with a steady line all day. They’ll need to address these issues as the event becomes more popular.

They’ll be in Austin for a craft brewers festival in Austin in October, so the next open house is November 9. Bring folding chairs, and arrive early to claim a good spot. Mark your calendars for a fun afternoon.

The New Twin Liquors Marketplace

Twin Liquors recently opened its newest Marketplace in the old Conn’s building (on the west side of 281 between Bitters and Nakoma). This impressive 15,000-square foot store provides an excellent selection of beer, wine, liquor, cigars, and barkeeping tools and accessories.

We began shopping at the Twin Liquors at the Alon Center when it opened a few months ago. Their pricing can’t be beat; on most items, “case pricing” applies if you buy two of any item. They also have weekend specials .The staff at both locations is very friendly and helpful, without being intrusive.

The large, open entry area at the Marketplace invites you in; on the first visit, it’s difficult to know where to start browsing. (Oddly, both stores, the Marketplace and Alon, smell of insecticide.) The many racks of wine line up smartly in straight rows, like a squad of marching Marines.



The humidor stocks a wide variety of cigars, as well as premium scotches (arranged on high shelves to prevent accidental breakage). I can’t abide cigarettes, but the aromas of cigar and pipe tobacco take me back to my grandfather’s house. The Marketplace hosts “Wine 101” classes in their spacious classroom (separated by a glass wall) on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 6:30-8:00. On Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 3:00-8:00, they sample a variety of wines and liquors at their tasting bar (which even has a little seating area).

They stock “fine wines” (roughly $75/bottle and up) in a glassed-off room at the right rear of the store. Their current selection is a little thin (especially from France), but they plan to add more. Frankly, we just can’t see spending several hundred dollars on one bottle of wine or scotch, I don’t care how rare or divine it is.

Some up-front displays of Texas liquors would be a nice addition. Ranger Creek .36 anyone?

The building holds an additional 7,000-sf of storage, and they plan to open wholesale operations after the first of the year.

I always like to see a big, long-vacant building claim a new tenant. Driving by the near-deserted Olmos Creek Center (NW Military and Huebner, where the old H-E-B used to be) is just a bit depressing.

I highly recommend a stop at the Marketplace!

Two Notable Grand Openings

Chef John Besh's Lüke held its grand opening last Thursday. Chef Besh (pictured), ever the gracious host, mingled with the crowd, chatted with nearly everyone, and posed for endless pictures.

Oh, and about the food.... simply marvelous. Lüke's menu is reminiscent of a French brasserie, but he and Chef Steve McHugh (@chefstevemchugh and @chefjohnbesh on Twitter) took pains to feature local ingredients. There's house-made sausage, local beers, and locally sourced produce. A Besh menu would be incomplete without his famous shrimp and grits. The downstairs bar area feels like a neighborhood pub; I'm certain it will quickly become a downtown favorite. The open kitchen provides dinner and a show for those seated on the second floor.

The grand opening featured a paté board (with buffalo, rabbit, and pork belly flavors), an amazing raw bar (the poor waitstaff kept running out to restock the oysters), shrimp and grits (smooth, creamy, and delicious), steak tartare with a quail egg, shrimp jambalaya, flammenkuchen (an onion tarte), and much, much more. Many of my foodie Twitter friends attended (see @ohmypuddin's blog post at "I Go Right for the Blogular"), as well as Ken-David Masur from the San Antonio Symphony. (When we introduced ourselves and told him we had sung "Carmina Burana" with him and the symphony, a nice conversation ensued.)

I'm looking forward to our first dinner visit!

Another local grand opening: Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling (@rangercreek on Twitter). Their whiskey won't be ready until the spring, but they have several beers ready to go. The Smoked Porter has a rich, smoky taste that I really enjoyed.

Dennis (one of the owners) told me that he and his partners couldn't decide whether to brew beer or distill bourbon, so they decided to do both.

Their 6,000-square foot "brewstillery" (located near IH-35 and Thousand Oaks) houses equipment special-ordered from Germany. They overbuilt their cold room, based on feedback from an Austin brewery that quickly ran out of space. They smoke their own malt in a smoking room out back.

While they cannot sell their product to the public, they welcome you to visit for a tasting and tour. In addition to Lüke and Freetail Brewing, several other local restaurants feature their products.