“We want to build Texas into a global brand” – F&R Distilling Co. opens Whiskey Ranch in Fort Worth

“I think people don’t realize what it takes to make a great whiskey,” Leonard Firestone said. “It’s a little bit of art, it’s a little bit of science. It’s time, of course.” Firestone is one of the owners behind Firestone and Robertson Distilling Co. founded in 2010. The company is known for its TX Whiskey and TX Straight Bourbon. The owners recently opened a huge Whiskey Ranch five miles from downtown Fort Worth. The facility was four and a half years in the making and will offer Texans and tourists an immersive whiskey experience.

In explaining why they started the company, Robertson said, “An ah-ha moment when we were in the process of building the company and kind of putting all the pieces together was the fact that Texas is the second largest consuming state of whiskey in the country, but very little of it was made here.” To change that, F&R developed its own distillery. It first debuted its signature TX Blended Whiskey in 2013 which went onto win the Best American Craft Whiskey title as well as double gold at the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco that same year. As the Robb Report described the whiskey, “With a luscious array of flavors—chocolate, orange, cinnamon, and clove—yet a surprising lightness on the palate, the 82-proof whiskey is ideal for sipping neat or on the rocks—though it also makes an excellent cocktail.”

Robertson explained, “It’s important to know the reason all of this was done. We have a vision to distribute our whiskey around the world. We want to build Texas into a global brand.” When F&R first started, there were only about 10 active distillery licenses. Now, there are over 100. With the Whiskey Ranch, F&R hopes to solidify its reputation as one of the pioneers in the Texan distillery scene. The ranch Is expansive, stretching 112 acres of land and comes complete with a bar, a store, event space, an 18-hole golf course, and even a secret entrance leading to a speak-easy style dining room. It is currently only open on Thursdays and Fridays until December. Public daily tours will commence in January 2018, allowing visitors to see how whiskey is made from fermentation to bottling. Of course, visitors will also be able to sample the whiskeys. The new facility is expected to increase the company’s production from three barrels to 40 a day.

Did you know that the experimentation involved in creating a whiskey recipe as well as building the Whiskey Ranch facility could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit? If you are also developing similar experiments, you could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit, even if your whiskeys aren’t yet in production. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 

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