barreling into texas

Yellowstone's Cole Hauser imports his ranch-inspired bourbon to Texas

Cole Hauser's Lazy K Bar Straight Bourbon Whiskey is hitting Texas stores in July.

Photo by Audrey Hall

Actor Cole Hauser and Fort Worth regular has already dabbled in brewing coffee for Texas, and is now into bourbon. The Yellowstone star is bringing his Lazy K Bar Whiskey to the Lone Star State starting in July.

The Lazy K Bar Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a 92 proof bourbon aged for eight years in Kentucky and bottled in Bozeman, Montana. Previously available only in Montana, it's now being sold by select retailers in Texas, $100 for a bottle, at 16 Fort Worth-area locations of Spec’s Wine, Spirits & Foods stores, plus a dozen around Dallas, as well as numerous locations in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.

It's also sold at Nomads Liquor in Temple, and Cowboy Liquors in Floresville, Kenedy, and La Vernia.

Hauser has portrayed heartthrob Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone since 2018. Although he doesn't live in Texas, he's made a couple of sold-out appearances at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, and one of his sons attends TCU.

The Lazy K brand started as a partnership between Hauser, Lazy K Bar Ranch owner David Leuschen, and Britt West, VP of Spirits at Gallo. In a press release, Hauser says he was getting requests from consumers to bring it to Texas.

"And there’s a history of working ranches in Texas that match the lifestyle that pairs well with our bourbon," Hauser said. "The product in the bottle should be enjoyed around a campfire, or at home with friends and family after a long day of work — whether that be branding cattle or making deals in the boardroom."

The Straight Bourbon Whiskey's mash bill consists of 74 percent corn, 18 percent rye, and 8 percent malted barley. According to the brand's website, it has a "rich round mouthfeel" and has complex aromatic tasting notes of sweet toast, malted grain, clove, cinnamon, and hints of apple.

The packaging consists of a hammered-texture glass bottle with a leather cover branded with the Lazy K Ranch brand, and topped off with a brass bottle stopper.

texas yellowstone cole hauser bourbon celebrities

Chef News

Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef

FortWorthtx.gov

Will Rogers Memorial Center

There's a new chef in town: Waylon Cornelius, named executive chef of catering and concessions for Craft Culinary Concepts, the food and beverage provider at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 120-acre entertainment complex anchoring Fort Worth’s Cultural District, owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Cornelius will oversee menus for trade shows and other events at the center which bring in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Craft Culinary Concepts is headquartered in Glendale, Arizona, and manages food and beverage programs for entertainment, sports and cultural facilities.

Chef Waylon Corneliusfortworthtx.gov

According to a release, Cornelius joined the team this summer and is already shifting the expectations of guests from a typical “BBQ and beans” menu to a bill of fare satisfying every kind of palate.

“We always have fajitas ready to go, but we also make a beautiful Beef Wellington or baked salmon with a pink salt crust,” Cornelius says in a statement.

For consumer trade shows, Craft and its partners Caribou and Taco Heads offer more choices for the thousands of guests who attend events at WRMC annually.

“Some of our equestrian guests are away from home and here for several days, and they need more than popcorn and hot dogs,” Cornelius says. “Our concessions offer biscuits and gravy, burritos made in-house, strawberry salad, fruit and yogurt cups.”

A native of Mansfield, Cornelius grew up helping in a farm-to-table kitchen. He was raised on a farm with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather -- a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed vegetable gardens and raising hogs and chickens. He studied computer science after high school and holds an associate's degree in Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis from Tarrant County College.

He's a 2003 graduate of AIMS Academy of Culinary Arts in Dallas where he was mentored by a number of great chefs. While training as assistant executive sous chef at the AAA four-diamond Grand Hyatt DFW, he worked with Executive Chef Sutti Sripolpa, chef Eric Dreyer (who went on to be Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef), and Chef Jean-Claude Plihon, under whom he honed his French cooking skills.

As executive sous chef at the opening of Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Southlake, Cornelius gained expertise with volume. While at HG Sply Co., he learned about gluten-free items and other food allergies.

HG Sply is also where he crossed paths with Chef James R. Schell III, Craft’s general manager at WRMC, who recruited Cornelius to the complex.

"James said he needed someone who can hit moving targets, push the culinary team to be more avant-garde and use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, so here I am," Cornelius says. "Culinary is a small world."

“I want people to say, ‘When we were in Fort Worth, you won’t believe what we got at Will Rogers!’” Schell says. “Even the celebrities who perform [in the auditorium] are surprised. When Chicago played here recently and we served dinner backstage, they said they felt treated like the Rolling Stones.”

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