Grain

Corn dominates almost every mash bill in Texas. That comes down to agriculture: the state grows enormous quantities of corn, and distilleries draw directly on it. Under US law, a bourbon needs at least 51 percent corn in the mash, and a corn whiskey needs as much as 80 percent.

Garrison Brothers in Hye relies on a classic combination: corn, wheat, and barley, all grown in Texas, all organic. The wheat makes the bourbon softer and rounder than pure rye recipes, the kind you'd find in Kentucky. Their bourbon belongs to the so-called wheated bourbons, named for the wheat content that mellows the spice.

Balcones in Waco takes a different route. For their Baby Blue Corn Whisky, they roast blue corn, an old variety that actually originates in New Mexico and is grown there for the distillery. The corn brings a nutty, almost chocolatey sweetness that you won't find in any other American whiskey.

For their single malt, Balcones also achieved a first: barley grown and malted in Texas for the very first time. Before that, malt for American whiskeys came almost exclusively from outside the state. Texan barley matures in a much hotter climate than Scottish barley, which changes both grain yield and protein content.

Ranger Creek in San Antonio sticks with corn as its base but toasts the grain over mesquite wood before mashing. This gives the .36 Texas Bourbon a smoky note that's locked in before fermentation even begins, not added later in the barrel.