Fierce Whiskers Distillery

Fierce Whiskers is a craft whiskey distillery located on six acres in South Austin, Texas, dedicated to producing premium Texas whiskey through a combination of data-driven methodology and artisan craftsmanship. Founded by childhood friends and Texas natives Tri Vo and Tim Penney, the distillery was built from the ground up with no prior whiskey industry background but a deep commitment to quality and innovation. The company operates a state-of-the-art facility that includes a uniquely engineered five-story rickhouse with adjustable louvers specifically designed to harness and manage the intense Central Texas climate during the barrel aging process — a creative engineering solution to one of the region's most challenging obstacles for whiskey production.

The distillery's current product lineup includes two flagship expressions: the Fierce Whiskers Texas Straight Rye and the Fierce Whiskers Texas Straight Bourbon. The Texas Straight Rye is an 18-barrel blend aged in a Kentucky-style rickhouse, bottled at 90 proof, and recognized for its award-winning profile of spice cabinet notes, black tea, caramel, and vanilla. The Texas Straight Bourbon is a gold medal-winning expression aged just over three years in white oak barrels, featuring a mash bill that incorporates wheat and toasted barrel heads, resulting in notes of maple, butterscotch, vanilla, leather, and tobacco.

All products carrying the Fierce Whiskers label are crafted entirely on-site, with no outsourcing of any production step. The distillery sources local grains whenever possible and utilizes Kelvin Cooperage white oak barrels for aging, emphasizing efficiency and quality from grain selection through bottling. The on-site tasting room is designed to offer visitors a transparent look into the full production process, and guided tours of the facility are available to the public.

Fierce Whiskers positions itself as a forward-thinking challenger brand in the Texas whiskey category — a segment historically associated with extreme heat-driven over-oaking and a lack of innovation. Rather than relying on inherited recipes or generations-old mashbills, the company pursues continuous improvement and experimentation at every stage of production. The distillery has received recognition from CarbonBetter for its efficiency-focused operations and thoughtful sourcing practices. Products are distributed across Austin and other major Texas cities, with direct-to-consumer online sales available to select states.