Recently, I had the pleasure of touring and tasting the gins from William Price Distilling in Houston, my hometown. Yes, Houston is a big city, but I’m so excited that more and more local distillers are producing gins – and some quality gins at that.
William Price was launched in 2020 by two college roommates and rugby teammates, Bryan Clary and Zachary Hiller. Their emphasis is on good spirits, but potentially even better experiences. I had to stop counting how many times the word “community” appears on the website. Their mission is clearly to create a home in their community, offering a comfortable, welcoming spot, a multitude of experiences, and even going as far to name their gins after the neighborhoods that surround them.
I spent my time with Toni Hardisty, WP’s master distiller, and learned not only about the gins, but about her unique start in distilling. Toni moved to the US from her home London four years ago. Through rugby connections, she met Zach and Bryan, and they invited her to use her training as a chemist (a PhD, mind you!) at their distillery. Of course, COVID hit shortly after, and she shifted gears to producing hand sanitizer. Along the way she was experimenting and learning the distilling process, and seven months later was named the master distiller. While young in her distilling career, she must be doing something right as she won a 2022 Gold Medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a 2022 Best in Category at Tales of the Cocktail for the Oak Forest Navy Strength Gin!
Let’s talk about the gins:
Garden Oaks Gin
This is a 46% ABV gin with juniper, coriander, angelica, lime zest, dried lemon, orris root, and peppercorn. The nose is full of lime and peppercorn. The taste is light on the front end with citrus notes – heavy lime with sweetness coming in on the back end. When I first tasted this gin, I called it “happy.” It’s super bright and citrusy, and I think is begging to be in a G&T. I think the quinine of the tonic might temper this a bit and make it a really lovely drink that is just begging for one of those gorgeous Houston patio days with your best friends (remember that community I was talking about earlier!!??)
Oak Forest Navy Strength Gin
Hold on to your hats, folks – this is navy strength, meaning it packs a punch at 57.5% ABV. I think the problem with some navy strength gins is you taste every bit of the alcohol content. The great news is that this is a smooooooth sipping gin. I wrote “wow” in my tasting journal. On the nose, you get juniper and lime. In the Garden Oaks, lime zest is used; but in the Oak Forest, Toni uses lime leaves, and the difference is interesting – the lime is there, but in a more subtle, sophisticated way, adding to that silky smooth texture. There’s a healthy amount of juniper and a medium pepper note to give it a little kick. This gin, for me, goes down a little too easy! I’ve been sipping it neat, but I’m going to experiment next with this in various Negroni preparations.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that WP makes spirits other than gin. They have whiskey, rye, rums, vodka, and some liqueurs. Two things I’m excited about – they are currently aging gin and plan a sloe gin for the holidays. And, they are distilling a delicious amaro called Honey Badger in collaboration with Dillon Carpenter from Rosewater Bar.
If you’re local, head over to the distillery! Order a delicious Oak Forest Destroyer (navy strength gin, orgeat peach, lemon, jalapeño tincture) and chat with the knowledgeable and friendly bar staff. As a distiller, any spirits they serve have to be produced in house, so Toni recently made a small batch of absinthe just so they could serve a Sazerac. And, as a bonus, you may get to meet the (not one, but two!) distillery cats. Bourbon was hiding in the office on my visit, but Rye was quite vocal and friendly.
Pick up William Price gins at most local liquor stores – both under $30 a bottle – and ask for it at your local bars. Cheers!
Great article.