Texas whisky is still under two decades old, but Ironroot Republic is already one of the Lone Star State’s luminaries. Founded by brothers Jonathan and Robert Likarish just a decade ago, this tiny but mighty distillery has garnered international attention from the whisky community and numerous accolades for its corn whisky and bourbon. Ironroot’s Hubris corn whisky has been named World’s Best Corn by the World Whiskies Awards no less than six times (in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024) and 2020 saw Harbinger awarded the title of World’s Best Bourbon. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Likarish family has partnered with Whisky Magazine to create a new documentary film telling the incredible story of the Ironroot’s rise to fame.
The family-owned facility produces mainly whisky and brandy, and takes its name from the ‘iron roots of Texas’ – the Texas grape vine roots grafted to French vines in the late 1800s to combat the pest phylloxera. The technique, which saved the French wine industry, was developed in Ironroot’s home town of Denison, Texas, by horticulturalist T.V. Munson. Just like Munson, the Likarishes are innovators guided by a philosophy of Texas terroir, which the brothers developed under the tutelage of brandy distiller Hubert Germain-Robin.
When the Likarish brothers began to envisage their business plan just over a decade ago, with Jonathan in charge of production and Robert in charge of business development, Texas whisky was still in its infancy. As the duo searched for what it meant to be a Texas whisky, they looked to the history of the area and the climate in which they would be operating. Jonathan adopted French brandy techniques, such as pot-still distillation and the ‘élevage’ barrel-management philosophy. To account for the scorching Texas heat and low humidity, the élevage approach sees every barrel carefully monitored and stewarded toward optimal maturation. Additionally, rather than using the customary wheat or rye common to the Kentucky bourbon industry, different varieties of corn are used as ‘flavouring grains’ in Ironroot’s mash bills – a pioneering method that’s become one of the distillery’s most celebrated hallmarks.
The Likarish family had always joked about leaving behind corporate life and starting a brewery or a winery, but, when Robert announced his intention to start a distillery, it was his mother, Marcia, who set to work planning a trip to Kentucky to learn more about the distilling industry. Now an integral part of Ironroot’s management team, Marcia went on to be nicknamed the ‘Mother of Texas Whisky’ and was named Distillery Manager of the Year by Icons of Whisky in 2024.
Today, there are 14 Ironroot employees including the family members. The brothers’ father, John, handles a lot of the day-to-day business onsite, and there are numerous distillery operators and salespeople. Ground has recently been broken for a new building that will house the bottling line and much-needed storage space for Ironroot’s maturing inventory. This expansion will free up space in the main building for an additional, larger Vendome still to increase production capacity.
To celebrate Ironroot Republic’s 10th anniversary, American Whiskey Magazine and Whisky Magazine have produced a film about Ironroot Republic Distilling, which will be released in late August via the magazines’ YouTube channel.
