Hemp-based vodka distillery budding in southHouston
Driving south from central Houston, there’s a specific moment that feels like you’re leaving the city. On the other side of Beltway 8, near the Clear
Creek golf course and the adjoining Christia V. Adair Park, a dirt road off Cullen leads to small pastures of cows and horses and a scattering of remote homes.
At the end of a cul-de-sac sits Highway Vodka, a distillery in the midst of an exciting expansion of its hemp-based spirit. Soon, visitors will be able to experience this escape from the city at Highway’s upcoming tasting room and event space.
Owners Ben Williams and Wendell Robbins III started making vodka as a hobby, not anticipating it would one day become a business. They’ve known each other since childhood and were partners at a restaurant before starting the distillery. Williams is still involved with Lucille’s, the Museum District restaurant he opened with his chef brother, Chris.
Williams and Robbins began tinkering with vodka-making in 2012 in Robbins’ barn just northwest of Pearland. He raised cutting horses on the property, where he still lives. But one day, a horse fell on him, breaking his ankle and leg in three places. He sold his five horses to dedicate the barn to distilling.
Over the years, the vodka earned positive feedback from taste tests, notably by customers at Lucille’s, and the pair knew they were onto something. They applied for permits in 2015 and received them in 2018 after a long process of testing to gain government approval — hemp is a variety of cannabis, yet it contains negligible amounts of THC, the psychoactive compound responsible for marijuana’s effects.
Meanwhile, through their bar-industry connections, they signed on with Houston-based distributing behemoth Silver Eagle and launched Highway Vodka in February 2019. Today, the product is sold in stores, restaurants and bars in several cities in Texas, as well as in Georgia, Florida, California, New York and New Jersey.
Highway’s recent success came from humble beginnings. Williams and Robbins remember when they cooked batches on their own stoves at home and brought them to a small still at the barn. They shopped for hemp seeds at Sprouts and Whole Foods. Now, they have a hemp purveyor in Minnesota; Williams hopes to shift to Texas-grown hemp in the future, but the industry is still young, as commercial hemp production was only legalized in the state in 2019.
Hemp is what makes Highway Vodka unique. The idea came about when they tasted a THC-infused alcohol product. Williams says he hated the taste and wasn’t sold on mixing the two substances, but he loved the smooth yet viscous texture and thought the plant could yield interesting results.
After some trials, they decided hemp seed worked best, but it produces a lot of oil. At first, they were siphoning it off the mixture, which was tedious and messy. One day they had a breakthrough when they decided to include everything in the recipe: hemp seeds and their oils with the corn and water.
“Chris was telling me about oil in cooking and how it’s meant to hold flavors on your palate,” Williams says. “The (vodka’s) flavor was better, smoother, and the oil became a huge part of our process.”
Now available in six states, Highway Vodka has grown 600 percent year on year since its launch. As well as the infrastructure provided with the Silver Eagle deal, the team received support from the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative, a new partnership between Jack Daniel’s and Nearest Green Distillery to help Black distillers succeed. (Nearest Green was the enslaved man who taught Jack Daniel how to distill.)
Williams and Robbins have plans to double the footprint of the barn-turned-distillery. They also recently purchased 7½ acres of land next door. It includes a stately-looking home in need of repairs that they intend to turn into a tasting room and entertainment venue for concerts and other events.
In the meantime, they’re continuing to grow the brand, in Texas and beyond. They also find time to enjoy it themselves. Williams likes to drink Highway on the rocks or with soda. Robbins likes it with
Topo Chico and a squeeze of lime.