New Austin distillery Fierce Whiskers gets green light

Texas-based whiskey brand Fierce Whiskers will begin construction of its new distillery in Austin, set for completion in 2019.

Fierce Whiskers will distill, age and bottle its whiskey in Austin, Texas

Construction of the new distillery will begin in the south of the city in the coming months, with spirit production due to commence next year.

Fierce Whiskers will produce Straight Texas Rye Whiskey, which it hopes to release in 2020, and Straight Texas Bourbon Whiskey, slated for release two years later.

Founded by Tri Vo and Tim Penney, Fierce Whiskers will be the second whiskey distillery to open in the Texas capital, following grain-to-glass distillery Still Austin Whiskey.

To launch the distillery, Vo and Penney, who both previously worked in the energy industry, partnered with Randy Allender, who has spent the last two decades producing Jim Beam Bourbon.

Fierce Whiskers will distill, age and bottle its whiskey in the Texas capital and hopes to “change the perception” of Texas whiskey.

The distillery said it will use a ‘Texas Tight Cut’ of its distillate, which means using a tighter cut of the heart of its spirit in order to chase the premium whiskey market and produce better spirits.

As whiskey production spreads across America, Balcones head distiller Jared Himstedt has said he thinks the whiskey industry needs to place a greater emphasis on where a whiskey matures, rather than its age.