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Kooper Family Whiskey Company was formally founded in Texas by Troy and Michelle Kooper as a small-batch whiskey company focused on bourbons and ryes, with blending, aging, and finishing done in Texas.
The Koopers bring in their first 175 gallons of unaged whiskey (from Koval Distillery in Chicago) to age in Texas, leading to the Kooper Family 100% Rye Whiskey release.
Kooper Family 100% Rye is unveiled as a single‑grain rye, a locally aged Texas rye, and highlighted as the only rye whiskey made in the Austin area at the time.
In the early years of their rye program, the Koopers began marrying bright, 100% rye with deeper, more complex Tennessee rye, recasking the blend in used Bourbon barrels, then layering in toasted oak staves to shape the finish.
Koopers release Kooper Family Rye, a blended rye after months of pulling frequent samples, tracking how the flavors and character evolved and using those trials to define the bold‑but‑balanced house rye style that still anchors their blends today.
Koopers begin seeking out and accumulating rare whiskey barrels and boutique distillates to age, blend, and finish.
The Koopers move the business from Dripping Springs to Ledbetter in rural Fayette County Texas near Round Top, and open their Tasting Room in a 100-year-old building on U.S. Highway 290, located at the center point between Austin and Houston.
Koopers release Barrel Reserve Rye, a barrel proof blend of straight rye whiskey. Coverage frames it as a "high‑proof, complex Texas rye that drinks easier than its proof and rewards attention."
Sweetheart of the Rodeo Bourbon launches throughout Texas, showcasing the Koopers' blending and finishing chops and becoming one of the core flagship products.
National lifestyle/spirits coverage calls Sweetheart of the Rodeo one of the more notable “new bourbons” that year after it wins multiple gold medals.
The Prodigal Son Bourbon appears as a distillery‑only / limited-edition straight bourbon, distilled in Kentucky and aged in Texas, impressing in enthusiast reviews and at whiskey festivals, and deepening the premium Bourbon tier within their portfolio.
Regional feature pieces frame Kooper Family Whiskey as a “Texas‑sized version of the American Dream”, highlighting the husband‑and‑wife founding story, the move from city life to rural Central Texas, and tight community ties to Round Top and Fayette/Washington counties.
Cognac Cask Finished Rye becomes a recurring annual limited release, marking Koopers as one of the few Texas producers consistently working with Cognac casks.
In 2026, Koopers has cemented its role as a Texas destination whiskey house, releasing multiple limited edition releases, and leaning harder than ever into Old World cask finishes, limited single‑barrel drops, and a growing dedicated community of fans making the trip out between Austin and Houston—with the next decade of experiments already quietly underway.
