Landmark Texas Swimming Hole Endangered — and a Whiskey Distillery is Stepping Up to Help: Drinking Bourbon to Save One of the State’s Best Blue Retreats

photography Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

Balmorhea pool has been an institution sine the 1930s.

The west Texas oasis is the largest spring-fed swimming pool in the world.

The swimming pool is home to a variety of aquatic life.

Balmorhea State Park pool is closed indefinitely for structural damage.

Balmorhea pool has been an institution sine the 1930s.

If you’ve been to the dry, sprawling desert of West Texas, you know how precious it is to find a refreshing oasis. But this past May, the state temporarily shuttered one of its most beloved – and environmentally significant – swimming holes. Balmorhea State Park is home to a gorgeous, spring-fed pool (the largest in the world!) that has kept Texans cool for nearly eight decades.

And the desert oasis isn’t just for humans. It’s also home to a variety of aquatic species, including two kinds of endangered desert fish.

So when the landmark was closed this spring due to structural failure, two Texas businesses rallied to find a solution. Garrison Brothers Distillery, the first legal bourbon whiskey distillery in the state, is partnering with Truluck’s restaurants across Texas to host a series of dinners benefitting Balmorhea State Park.

Garrison Brothers Distillery, which is based in the Texas Hill Country, has already had a highly successful series of pool parties for the cause, called Balmorhea Blue. Naturally, a bourbon pairing dinner was the next move. Each of the four-course dinners will include chef-selected dishes paired with Garrison Brothers’ small-batch bourbon.

“My wife and I have been dining at Truluck’s for years, but now that I’ve met the owners and their talented management team and witnessed their dedication to philanthropy firsthand, I’m even more impressed,” Dan Garrison, founder of Garrison Brothers Distillery, says in a statement. “Good bourbon, delicious seafood, and a worthwhile cause. It’s a great partnership.”

The dinners will take place at Truluck’s restaurants in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Southlake and The Woodlands. In addition to dinner, the event will include an exclusive cocktail reception with a bourbon tasting, where guests will be able to chat with the team behind Garrison Brothers Distillery.