Texas just got its first cooperage — and the way Greg Standard is building barrels might change how Texas whiskey tastes.

This week on Swamp Sippin’, I sat down with Greg Standard, owner of Standard Cooperage in Blanco, Texas — the first cooperage in the state. We get into how a mechanical engineer and custom home builder ended up making barrels, why Texas was buying 60,000–100,000 barrels a year from out of state, and the study Standard Cooperage funded with Texas A&M asking one simple question: does where the white oak grows change the flavor in your glass?

We also talk Texas oak county by county, toast vs. char, why their staves are built Texas-tough, white-glove delivery straight from the coopers who built your barrel — and the handshake business model that flips the whole cooperage game on its head.

Every episode ends the same way: one guest, one question — what’s one thing about the bourbon world you’d drain from the swamp? Don’t miss Greg’s answer.

Standard Cooperage — Blanco, TX

Chapters

• 00:00 The Birth of a Cooperage
• 07:11 Barrel Sizes and Toasting vs. Charring
• 13:19 Cooperage Business Model
• 22:12 Greg's Journey to Blanco
• 28:21 Challenges in the Cooperage Industry
• 33:52 Reflecting on the Cooperage Journey

STANDARD COOPERAGE

Website: https://standardcooperage.com

Instagram / Facebook: @standardcooperage

Father’s Day barrel demonstration — Sat, June 20, sign up via the Texas Whiskey Trail

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Laurie and Bernard Quandt left corporate New York, landed in Llano, Texas, and built a distillery where she runs the still and he runs the road. This is WarTrail Spirits — and their Broken Halo Bourbon is doing something most Texas distilleries won't: 100% Texas grains, four years old, no malted barley on purpose.

In this episode we get into the science behind the iStill, why six-to-seven-day ferments matter more than most people think, the 193-proof shower Bernard took the hard way, and the kangaroo that walked into their tasting room. Plus a Drain the Swamp answer that every craft bourbon fan needs to hear.

📍 WarTrail Spirits — 122 E Main St, Llano, TX

🥃 Broken Halo Bourbon: 80% corn / 20% rye, 100% Texas grains

🔗 Follow @wartrail on Instagram

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 Cold open

00:35 Why a married couple started the hardest business

02:30 Buying an iStill from a "punk rock scientist"

04:00 The 193-proof shower (Bernard's worst day)

07:30 How Laurie and Bernard split the work

11:00 From rural New York to Houston to Llano

15:00 The kangaroo in the tasting room

18:30 Why they took malted barley OUT of the mashbill

20:30 Sourcing 100% Texas grain from MBS Seed

23:00 Tasting the 94 proof and 115 proof Broken Halo

24:00 Black cherry notes and oak striping every third barrel

29:00 The distribution grind and getting into Total Wine

33:50 DRAIN THE SWAMP: "Stop chasing allocated. Drink craft."

36:30 Closing

🐊 ABOUT SWAMP SIPPIN'

Long-form sit-downs with craft distillers and brand founders, hosted by Kevin — The Bourbon Gator. New episodes every Friday.

▶️ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@thebourbongator

🎧 Also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

📸 Instagram: @thebourbongator

🎵 TikTok: @thebourbongator

🔔 FTC: Broken Halo Bourbon was gifted by WarTrail Spirits. All opinions are my own.

#TexasBourbon #SwampSippin #WarTrailSpirits #BrokenHalo #BourbonGator #CraftBourbon #TexasWhiskey

Two boys with family roots in Southwest Louisiana met in Texas, built a 24-year friendship, and came home through a bottle. Episode 1: The Bourbon Gator sits down with Matt Myres of Acadian Lore Whiskey Co. to talk about what it really costs to build a whiskey brand from scratch — and what he'd drain from the swamp if he could. Pour one and pull up a chair.