Waterloo Old Yaupon Gin

A Texas take on Old Tom Gin with plenty of flare and a punch of citrus.

Daniel Barnes founded Treaty Oaks Distilling in 2006 in Austin, Texas. He quickly made an impact in the local bar scene and expanded rapidly, delivering a range of Bourbons, Whiskies, and Waterloo Gin. In 2016 they expanded to a new facility on a 28-acre ranch in the small town of Dripping Springs, Texas — about ten miles west of Austin — with new, larger stills and storage rickhouse. In 2018 they became a part of Mahalo Spirits (Angel’s Envy) and RSVP Ventures’ expanding Spirits portfolio.

We imagine that it went down something like this… The folks at Treaty Oak were sitting around sipping a dram after work one day when someone said, “Y’all know what? Our No. 9 Gin is good and all, but how do we make it even more Texas-y?” Waterloo Old Yaupon Gin is named after a wild variety of Holly that grows locally. So they threw some of that in there. Then they added markrut lime and Texas wildflower honey on top of the juniper, anise, and orris root. They bottled new taste creation at 45% ABV to make sure you got a real good hit of the stuff with each sip. Due to the sweetness of the honey, they call it their answer to an “Old Tom Gin.” We think it tastes like a Gin-garita.

Smartass corner:
Markrut lime is also known as Thai lime, kaffir lime, and a bunch of other names depending on where you are in Asia. It looks like a regular lime, but it’s a little bigger and cover in bumps. It is prized for having an extra pungent citrus aroma.