Whiskey Ranch
o The 112-acre Whiskey Ranch will serve as the home for Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. (F&R) second location.
Whiskey Ranch will be the largest whiskey distillery west of the Mississippi.
o Whiskey Ranch sits on historic grounds, formerly called Glen Garden Country Club (built in 1912), where some of the greatest golfers in history – Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sandra Palmer – began their careers.
F&R will preserve the famous grounds, maintaining the 18-hole golf course for charity and private events.
o Whiskey Ranch will be the only distillery on a fully functioning 18-hole golf course in the U.S.
o Whiskey Ranch utilizes a 45-foot copper column still, along with the world’s first “doubler” designed with site windows.
o The Whiskey Ranch property has four deep water wells, which will be used in the production process.
o The new venue will open to the public for a holiday preview starting Nov. 10 every Thursday and Friday from noon to 5 p.m. Daily tours will begin in January 2018 and Whiskey Ranch is now open for private events.
o Whiskey Ranch will allow F&R to cater to its rapidly growing consumer demand by increasing production of its award-winning TX Whiskey and TX Straight Bourbon.
o The original F&R Distillery, located just south of Downtown Fort Worth, will continue to operate, and will focus on producing innovative new Texas whiskies.
o Both distilleries will feed into the brand’s expansion plans across the United States and Internationally.
* Design Architect: Tryba Architects
* Architect of Record: Hahnfeld Hoffer Stanford
* General Contractor: Steele & Freeman
www.frdistilling.com.
Source: Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co.
Robert Francis
rfrancis@bizpress.net
Leonard Firestone and Troy Robertson, who took the whiskey world by storm with their TX Blended Whiskey, have now transformed a 112-acre site in East Fort Worth into a whiskey wonderland.
Whiskey Ranch is the new name of the former site of Glen Garden Country Club and will be home to the artisanal distillery’s second location, which will be the largest whiskey distillery west of the Mississippi.
The site will include an event center with spectacular views of Downtown Fort Worth. The slightly-modified golf course will also be available for special events and fundraisers.
“This is not only a great attraction for DFW, Fort Worth and the neighborhood, but we’re responsible guys, we’re going to take care of our name and good things will result,” Firestone said during a tour of the new site.
Firestone co-founded Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co., or F&R, in 2010 with Robertson, the first craft bourbon and whiskey distillery in North Texas.
The timing was right, as craft distilleries were just taking off. F&R released its first whiskey brand, TX Blended Whiskey, in June 2012 and quickly swept up several awards. The highly-anticipated, first-ever North Texas straight bourbon, TX Bourbon, was released in December 2016 and lines stretched around the block to taste and purchase the bourbon.
Not bad for two friends who began their careers in political science (Robertson) and oil and gas (Firestone).
“If you’ve bought some of our whiskey or bourbon, you helped build this,” Firestone told the crowd during the tour.
Whiskey Ranch sits on what was once the site of the historic Glen Garden Country Club, where legends Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sandra Palmer began their careers. F&R has preserved the famous grounds, maintaining the golf course for charity and private events.
When open, Whiskey Ranch will allow F&R to cater to its rapidly growing consumer demand by increasing production of its award-winning TX Whiskey and TX Straight Bourbon, all while maintaining the same quality, craftsmanship, and attention to detail, according to F&R.
Whiskey Ranch has a stone entrance with a winding paved road that leads visitors across a pastoral setting to the front of the property, which was intentionally designed to showcase dramatic views of Downtown Fort Worth.
The visitor center, or Ranch House, includes the Ranch Store, a 2,000-square foot retail area with F&R products along with local goods from Texas artisans.
Handmade caps adorning each bottle of TX Whiskey is an F&R signature, and a capmaking station will allow guests to create their own cap for their whiskey.
The “Barrel Breezeway,” with barrel racks that mimic the rick house on property, leads to the Tavern and the Oak Room. The rick house is where the barrels are stored after being filled with freshly distilled spirits.
The Tavern is available for tastings and features a large custom bar, comfortable seating and historic golf memorabilia on display. Nearby is the Oak Room, with a floor-to-ceiling tiered rock fireplace, sealed concrete floors, oversized round chandeliers with industrial pendant lighting and plenty of natural light. The Oak Room is intended for corporate and private events of any kind and can accommodate about 175 people.
Opening from the Oak Room is a two-sided wraparound covered patio with additional seating for 130, called the Back Porch. This area features two outdoor fireplaces and views of the lake and newly designed 18th hole.