Our Guide to the 2026 SETX Whiskey Fest
Saturday, January 10th, 2026
SETX Whiskey Fest is ramping up for its fourth year! Our team of experts is here to help you maximize your experience.
We have attended the event every year since its inception, and through our first-hand knowledge and conversations with event organizers, we have the insights you need to enjoy the premier whiskey experience of Southeast Texas.
Get Tickets Here
The Basics: A Celebration of Whiskey, Food, and Community
Image courtesy SETX Whiskey Fest
SETX Whiskey Fest launched in January 2023, sponsored and hosted by southeast Texas staple Longhorn Liquor. The event is held each January in Beaumont, Texas, and boasts hundreds of different whiskeys and spirits to sample. We’re talking 400+ offerings, which is more than anyone should safely consume in a decade of attending a 4-hour long event. And distilleries have a bad habit of releasing new stuff each year, so the list is always changing. It’s the best kind of problem to have, but always remember to know your limits and have a designated driver!
No event like this should be allowed to exist without access to plentiful water and food, and SETX Whiskey Fest does it best. Bando’s has been the local caterer in years past, and this is some seriously high quality fare. It is representative of the southeast Texas area and the culinary impacts (Louisiana is right there, folks) that make food in this part of Texas so damn good. Food is included with all tickets, so ensure you load up and stay hydrated!
SETX Whiskey Fest really is a community-building experience. We have met people here - attendees, organizers, and brand reps - that have led to relationships outside of the event itself. One of our team members is from the Beaumont area, and it never fails that he will run into people he knows and spend time catching up. In fact, if you look around the convention floor you will see more groups of attendees talking to each other than you will crowding around booths to get samples. Physically having the space to stand and talk is a luxury at indoor events, and that is an intentional part of SETX Whiskey Fest’s design.
The event supports Cure Rare Disease (more on them below), a nonprofit that streamlines and de-risks the development of therapies for ultra-rare diseases that disproportionately impact children.
To VIP or not to VIP?
Will VIP tickets still be available by the time you make a decision? That is the real question!
VIP gets you in an hour earlier, when booths are stocked with rare pours and the most coveted of free goodies. The $199 tickets are limited to encourage a more intimate experience, and they consistently sell out well ahead of the event itself.
Let’s be clear about something, though - at $99, the General Admission tickets are one of the best values in any festival that we have attended. I know what you’re thinking - these guys are clearly “VIP material” so what would they know about GA? In 2025 we ran an experiment, where part of the team bought VIP and the other part GA so that we could compare the experiences.
TL;DR: Get the same entry time for your entire group to maximize your enjoyment. Read our painstaking research below to see how we arrived at that insightful (and maybe obvious) conclusion.
4pm
We arrived early to scope out the crowd and the War Wagon Cigar Lounge, a returning favorite. By 4:25, about 15 people were waiting for the doors to open. Within ten minutes the line had tripled in size, so Team VIP (Chris A, using the royal “we” for some reason) grabbed a spot in line and soon had wristbands as the workers began checking tickets and IDs ahead of getting through the double doors to the convention center.
Team GA (Ryan and Chris K) began investigating what was going on outside. The outdoor covered tent was filled with tables and included a small stage up front for the different musical acts. Extra tables outside left room for people to stand while eating, enjoying music, or sampling some local beer from Buckstin Brewing Co. (they have two locations between Beaumont and Nederland, and serve fantastic beer and pizza). Everyone kind of loitered around until it was time to officially kick things off.
5pm
Team VIP headed inside with the 200-250 other VIPs already lined up. We grabbed our tasting glasses and swag bags and hit the convention floor. If there was a map of the booths then we never found it, but other VIPs were rushing to the back corner of the convention center to get some of the most exclusive pours that make the VIP hour worth it (think Pappy, BTAC, ultra-aged expressions you can’t get at MSRP). We didn’t do that this year, and instead spent the hour talking to contacts at different distilleries and getting some limited table swag and under-the-table pours. We eventually wandered to the back, where some of the lines were still wrapped around part of the floor, and snagged a few allocated pours before spending some time with our friends at the Milam & Greene booth.
Team GA might have wandered into the covered tents to take some photos. And then someone might have asked them if they wanted to have a few beers while they were waiting. And they might have hung around while the band was warming up… the other General Admission pass holders were lining up outside, getting wristbands, and waiting for their turn to get started.
6pm
Team VIP had basically made a list of places to take Team GA which is an extremely poor (pour?) use of time for a VIP. As the General Admission ticket holders started coming in, we went back to some favorites like Ironroot Republic (making their festival debut), BENDT (with some hazmat specials), and Milam & Greene (because Blair is the best brand manager we know). We also kept running into industry friends like Big Bourbon Chief from the Whiskey Trip and Charlie Humphrey from the Texas Whiskey Trail.
We love Texas whiskey, but SETX Whiskey Fest has much more to offer. We spent the rest of the hour being introduced to brands we hadn’t previously tried like Old Elk and Hard Truth, and gearing up for a very limited upcoming opportunity…
7pm
Right before 7pm, we joined a group of 12 that went upstairs for an Old Elk tasting and Longhorn Liquor barrel pick. The festival’s Facebook page had announced that they had spots open just a few hours before the event started, and all three of us immediately figured out our Facebook logins and managed to secure spots. Once upstairs, Jessie Thomas (the Whiskey Chick) led us through a tasting of five Old Elk offerings and then through the six different barrel pick options. For the mathematically challenged, that is 11 pours of whiskey in about an hour. It was a very fun tasting, and Bucky Pinder (the legend himself!) played the gracious co-host and Longhorn Liquor representative. He also managed to wrangle everyone into a unanimous barrel pick, which we have mostly redacted in the photo to avoid spoilers.
We took a bunch of photos through the windows overlooking the main floor and stumbled back to the elevator.
8pm
Did we mention the 11 drinks we just had?
It was time for some much-needed food, and once again Bando’s was providing some incredible catering. We loaded up plates, grabbed some desserts, and somehow got separated from each other?!
Team GA miscounts how many of us there are and finds a table inside with only two spots available… Chris K is friends with just about everyone in the Beaumont area, and he strikes up a conversation with others at the table that are someone’s doctors or relatives or former coworkers? Things are getting a bit hazy, but the food is delicious and the company is warm. There are no further notes from Team GA.
Team VIP watches Team GA sit at a table without enough room, so they go find a seat outside and enjoy some live music and the cold air. The food is gone in no time, so we go back in for seconds and to snag more water. End-to-end, the double helping of dinner only takes 15 minutes because there are several buffet lines moves at an efficient pace. Team GA is in the middle of a raucous story, so Team VIP wanders back to the convention floor for a final round of increasingly blurry photos, some last-minute pours, and to purchase a shirt from Cure Rare Disease as a part of their extended fundraising for the evening.
9pm
Reunited at last, we cluster to the front and run back into our whiskey friends for a final debriefing. Bucky and Big Bourbon Chief share their quick takes on how the year went compared to last year. By 920pm the vendors are mostly done packing up their booths, security is ensuring the safety of guests, and our amazing designated driver is taking us home. What a night!
What’s Different for 2026?
We have no idea, but as soon as we get confirmation on changes from the event team and Longhorn Liquor then we will pass that knowledge along. Stay tuned!
The Purpose: Cure Rare Disease
“Since 2023, the SETX Whiskey Festival has raised more than ONE MILLION DOLLARS for Cure Rare Disease. ”
All proceeds from SETX Whiskey Fest support Cure Rare Disease, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit biotech developing genetic medicines for children and people with life-threatening diseases. This is an intentional partnership rooted in the personal impacts that rare diseases have had on those near and dear to the Longhorn Liquor family.
The festival organizers have been intentional about balancing the cost for attendees with the money that can go to their nonprofit partner. In fact, SETX Whiskey Fest raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year between ticket sales, donors, raffles, and merchandise. That is a meaningful amount of money that every attendee and donor should be proud of. We know that we are.
Our Deeper Connection
We started attending SETX Whiskey Festival because we loved an opportunity to experience an event like this in the Beaumont area. What my wife and I didn’t know is that in the years since the first event our daughter would be diagnosed with Doose Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. We are blessed to have amazing doctors here in Houston that can support her through ongoing and potentially lifelong treatment, but other families and children aren’t as lucky given the nature of their diseases.
We were of course happy to see part of the ticket sales go to Cure Rare Disease each year, but now it’s a much more personal cause for my family. We look forward to attending again in 2026 and making additional donations to support research and hope for other families.
Our Frequently Asked Questions
The official website has its own informative FAQ (go read it), but our team also gets asked some questions that may stand out from what an official event organizer can or should answer…
How many drinks can I expect to get with my admission?
It’s up to your tolerance and willingness to wait in line at certain booths... and to not get distracted by the food, music, charity raffles, and conversations with others…
We average a staggering 6 drinks per hour, and that is why we always have a designated driver.
What should I bring with me?
Your ticket and ID, for starters (this is a strictly 21+ event).
You will get a Glencairn for tasting with your ticket purchase, so no need to bring your own glassware from home.
Do not bring large bags, outside food or drinks, or bad attitudes.
Is there parking?
Yes, and it is free! But again, you really should not be driving yourself to an event like this…
Is the food really that good?
Absolutely. And it is plentiful - in the first three years it has yet to run out (which we have sadly experienced at other events).
What’s the dress code?
We wear jeans/pants and our Distillery Reviews polos, looking more like vendors than guests.
Collared shirts are required for men, and several wear jackets, boots, and cowboy hats.
Don’t wear shorts, t-shirts, or athletic clothes. Dress a bit fancier, y’all!
Is there more than just the main Saturday event going on?
Yes, but additional events are not open to the general public.
On Friday, the festival usually hosts a dinner and charity auction.
Earlier on Saturday there may be Master Classes (like the Four Roses one from 2025).
During the event itself there may be some private tastings, barrel selections (like our Old Elk event last year), and other side quests.
Good Bourbon, Great Cause
SETX Whiskey Fest remains a consistently high value experience that will give you the opportunity to try a ton of great whiskey that might otherwise be out of your reach.
Combine that with a meaningful ongoing partnership with Cure Rare Disease, and the camaraderie of the whiskey community in and around southeast Texas, and you won’t want to miss out on what promises to be another memorable year of this premier event.
In conclusion, it isn’t really a concern around if you show attend this event, the real concern is around how quickly you can get tickets. We look forward to seeing you in January!
Our Stats
First Visit: January 2023
Visit Count: 3
Spirits Sampled: Over 100
Memorable Brand Interactions: Penelope, Old Elk, BENDT, Garrison Brothers
