Fort Worth Gets a Unique New Whiskey Tasting Room — Oak & Eden Is Coming to The Shops at Clearfork

Expect a Whiskey Library Like No Other

BY Courtney Dabney // 09.27.22

Oak & Eden Whiskey is not only a unique Texas brand, it’s the first American whiskey maker to have its distilling process patented. Now, Oak & Eden is about to take on Fort Worth.

While the brand’s flagship retail location and nano-distillery are located in Bridgeport, Texas, it’s about to open a new tasting room and bar in Fort Worth’s The Shops at Clearfork.

Oak & Eden is currently under construction just next door to Plank Seafood’s first Fort Worth restaurant (which is slated to open around the first of the year) and will feature interiors by Coevál Studio. Check out a sneak peek at the design, which is reportedly inspired by “earth tones and textures” as well as a “craftsmanship of leather making.”

The Library lets Oak and Eden visitors sample more than 500 experimentals. Now, Fort Worth is getting one of its own.
The Library lets Oak & Eden visitors sample more than 500 experimental bottles of whiskey. Now, Fort Worth is getting one of its own.

The new Fort Worth Oak & Eden will bring a sexy, U-shaped bar with brass and wood accents and bottle cages hanging overhead. There will also be The Library, a space lined with 500 experimental bottles to sample just like in Oak & Eden’s Bridgeport flagship.

Fort Worth is also getting Oak & Eden’s Bottle Builder program. The program lets visitors craft their own whiskey bottle using one of the maker’s four finished whiskey bases and choosing from more than 30 infusion options. (The Bottle Builder program costs $90 per bottle.)

Oak & Eden is expected to open in The Shops at Clearfork by the spring of 2023. In the meantime, whiskey lovers can take a quick road trip to Bridgeport (it is 47 miles from Fort Worth) to sample craft cocktails and take a bottle builder class at Oak & Eden’s flagship located at 1023 Halsell Street (it’s open Wednesdays through Sundays).

Oak & Eden’s current eight expressions include four whiskeys from its Inspired Series ― a bourbon, wheat, a four grain and rye — and four whiskeys from its Infused Series. Those include a rye finished with Caribbean rum-infused American oak spire, Bourbon & Brew finished with coffee-infused oak, Bourbon & Vine finished with cabernet oak, and the newest Wheat & Honey, which officially debuts this Thursday, September 29.

This Texas whiskey brand has even done five fulfilling collaborations with musicians such as Jamestown Revival, Fort Worth’s own Abraham Alexander and Yellowstone star Forrie J. Smith. The brand has plans to roll out additional expressions in its Infused Series over the next year.

Oak & Eden’s new Wheat & Honey is already making an impression.

An Oak & Eden Preview

After attending a VIP preview party at Atico in the Fort Worth Stockyards, I can tell you Oak & Eden’s new Wheat & Honey is tasty. It’s neither too hot nor too sweet, making for a good sipping or mixing whiskey.

“Every Oak & Eden release reflects our pursuit in customizing the experience of whiskey in unique ways — not just with the products we create, but also with how they are designed to be used,” Oak & Eden co-founder Brad Neathery says in a statement. “We intentionally crafted Wheat & Honey to pair beautifully with a broad range of refreshing cocktails. Cocktails that most people would never assume are whiskey-based.”

This new small batch release blends Oak & Eden’s wheated bourbon (which is 51 percent corn, 45 percent wheat and four percent malted barley) with a honey-soaked toasted American oak spire. You’ll notice flavors of honey, caramel, butterscotch, allspice and candied fruit.

Wheat & Honey will be available starting Thursday online at OakandEden.com for $59.99 a bottle. Then, Wheat & Honey will continue to roll out at Oak & Eden retailers across 30 states in the coming months.

Oak & Eden owners and co-founders Brad Neathery, Joe Giildenzopf, and James Giildenzopf note that their whiskeys are “aged in barrel and finished in bottle.”

Perhaps you’ve already sampled one of their expressions — bottled with a five-inch long, spiral-cut wooden spire inside. It’s more than just a marketing gimmick. Oak & Eden’s in-bottle finishing method is trademarked.

After aging their whiskeys for three years in American oak barrels, Oak & Eden takes a different path. Instead of double barreling it ― putting the aged whiskey in yet another barrel ― they bring a bit of the barrel right to the bottle. The oak staves allow for in-bottle finishing as well as never before seen customization.

By next spring, Fort Worth whiskey lovers will be able to experience it themselves when Oak & Eden’s new tasting room gets pouring.

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