Western Son Distillery sits on Division Street in Pilot Point, Texas, about an hour north of Dallas in what’s becoming a surprising hotspot for craft spirits. Founded by Nick Ackerman in 2010, this operation started as a dream to bring premium vodka production to Texas using locally sourced corn and wheat. Ackerman, who had a background in the beverage industry, wanted to create something that could compete with top-shelf imports while staying true to Texas roots. The distillery operates out of a 10,000-square-foot facility that houses their custom-built column stills and bottling operation. What began as a vodka-focused operation has expanded into a full spirits portfolio including whiskey, gin, and flavored vodkas. Ackerman and his team take pride in their seven-times distillation process for their vodka, using a proprietary filtration system that includes activated carbon and quartz crystal filtration. The whiskey program launched later, with bourbon and rye expressions that spend time in new charred oak barrels in their on-site aging warehouse. They’ve grown from a small craft operation to one of the larger independent distilleries in North Texas. Visitors get a behind-the-scenes look at an active production facility where you can see the massive column stills in operation and smell the sweet corn mash cooking. The tasting room feels more industrial than rustic, with concrete floors and exposed ceiling beams, but that fits the serious production vibe they’ve cultivated. You’re tasting spirits that are made right there, often bottled the same week, and the staff knows every step of the process because they’re living it daily.