Dan Garrison named his family’s award-winning, handcrafted liquor Cowboy Bourbon for a reason: it’s distilled in Texas and bottled just like whiskey served in Old West saloons — straight out of the barrel. “It’s raw and real,” said Garrison of Hye, Texas’ Garrison Brothers Distillery that produces the 135 proof spirit. “It’s not for kids. It’s for tough guys and cowboys. And that’s what bourbon is all about.”
Bourbon connoisseurs fell in love with his small-batch whiskey as it was named American Micro Whiskey of the Year in 2014, which now commands up to $200 a bottle in stores, if you can find it. But just as Cowboy Bourbon was becoming recognized as one of the nation’s finest whiskeys, Garrison Brothers became the target of a trade infringement lawsuit filed in a Northern District of California federal court by Allied Lomar, an international liquor distributor. Allied Lomar alleged they had registered a trademark for “Cowboy Little Barrel” in 2001 and that Garrison Brothers were infringing on their product.
