"It's been tasted and loved! Now... November 7th will be the chance to buy." That is how War Trail Spirits described its new bourbon on the Llano Chamber calendar. Saturday, November 7, is also the first day of general white-tailed deer season in Llano County, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife's Llano County regulations.
So this year, opening day has a second ritual built in. The distillery will run its still, fill a fresh barrel, and invite guests to sign it and come back each year to taste how the whiskey is aging. The barrel is filled on opening day of deer season, and the Chamber listing says to taste it "every year on the same date." That gives the opener a fixed date for people who will never sit in a blind.
The Season Turns Over on Friday Night
Llano County is in TPWD's North Zone. Archery-only season runs October 3 through November 6, 2026, and general season opens November 7 and runs through January 3, 2027. Hunters will spend this Friday on their last day of archery-only rules and Saturday on the first day of rifle season.
Visit Llano County calls Llano the Deer Capital of Texas and frames the fall this way: "you don't have to be a hunter to love hunting season in Llano County." That is the visitor bureau's pitch to out-of-town families. This year, a downtown business has made the same pitch to the town itself, and attached it to a specific Saturday.
What War Trail Is Releasing, and What It Already Pours
The new bottle starts what War Trail calls its "I'm Complicated" series. It is a straight bourbon whiskey made from 100% Texas grains, a limited release sold only in the tasting room at 122 E. Main St. The Chamber listing describes dark cherry, a hint of tobacco, and a sherry-like finish, bottled at 107 proof.
The word "first" in the party's name refers to this series. It is not War Trail's first aged whiskey. The distillery's own product pages call Broken Halo its inaugural four-year-old bourbon, and County Road is a Texas blended whiskey made from two-year-old bourbon. What's new on November 7 is a limited-release line and a recurring date to go with it. In War Trail's words, "We're starting a new War Trail Spirits tradition."
Laurie and Bernard Quandt run the distillery as a husband-and-wife team. In early 2025, 101 Highland Lakes reported that War Trail moved into the space left by Llano Craft Distillery. The magazine called the Smoked Manhattan, built on Broken Halo, the fan favorite. It also noted that War Trail carries the old Llano Craft Distillery vodka and gin label, along with a few of that venue's favorite cocktails. The same piece took the War Trail name from the paths Comanche riders once used on their way north from Mexico to Palo Duro Canyon. It's a fitting name for a business that just put a Llano tradition on deer season's calendar.
Friday, November 6: The Expo Comes First
The weekend starts on Friday morning at the Llano Visitor Center, 100 Train Station Drive. The Llano Chamber hosts the Llano Outdoor Sports Expo there from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. TPWD staff will be on hand to talk about careers, internships and volunteer opportunities with the department. Visit Llano County's listing adds state game wardens and biologists, wildlife education, and food and drink.
The Chamber's expo page lists:
- Free goodie bags while supplies last
- Educational courses, workshops and seminars
- More than $40,000 in prizes, with a 2026 Kawasaki Mule Pro FXT 1000 as the grand prize
- Raffle tickets at $25 each or five for $100
War Trail will have a booth at the expo with spirit tastings, a chance to meet the owners, and information about distilling. If you want to taste the style before Saturday, this is the place.
Miiller's Meat Market & Smokehouse holds its "Hello Hunters" event the same Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The expo and Miiller's overlap for three hours, so both fit in one morning.
Saturday, November 7: Three Stops, One Opening Day
- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Llano Courthouse Square, 801 Ford St. The Farmers & Crafters Market meets on the square. Visit Llano Texas says it runs every first and third Saturday, year-round, with homegrown, handmade and farm-raised goods. This year, the first Saturday of the month and the first day of general season land on the same date.
- All day, War Trail Spirits, 122 E. Main St. The First Barrel Release Party runs all day, and Chuck Shaw plays from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday tasting room hours run until 9 p.m.
- Saturday night, Pardners Night Club, Buchanan Dam. Pardners holds its 40th Annual Hunter's Ball, which the Chamber listing says will kick off hunting season with drink specials, dancing and two giveaways.
The Pardners ball shows how long the opener has been a social date in Llano County. It has run for four decades. War Trail's barrel is the newest addition, and it's built to repeat for years.
What Happens at the Barrel
The release party has three parts:
- The bottle. Limited "I'm Complicated" bottles go on sale at the tasting room while supplies last.
- The still. War Trail will distill a new batch on site that day and put it into a fresh barrel to start aging.
- The signature. Guests can sign that barrel, then come back each year to taste how the whiskey has changed.
"Sign the barrel, then come back each year for a taste and experience how the spirit develops over time!"
According to the Chamber, the setting is friendly to cigars, kids and dogs, and there will be food along with the music. A household with one hunter can split the day. The hunter takes the morning, everyone else takes the square, and the group meets on East Main in the afternoon.
Plan Around Sunday and Monday
The tasting room is closed Sunday and Monday. Regular hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 1 to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 1 to 9 p.m. The bottle is sold only at the tasting room, so after Saturday the next chance to buy is Tuesday afternoon, if any are left.
The square has two more dates coming up. The next Farmers & Crafters Market falls on the third Saturday, November 21, on the same first-and-third schedule. A Dickens of a Christmas comes to the Llano County Courthouse December 4 through 6. By then, the barrel signed on November 7 will be about a month into aging, and its first yearly tasting will fall on November 7, 2027.
Our team keeps a calendar like this one in mind on every Llano County ranch and hunting property we represent. If a place in deer country is on your list for next season, Topper Real Estate can walk you through the land, water and access questions before the next opener. Schedule your Hill Country consultation.
