Packsaddle Nectars Distillery & Saloon is celebrating its grand opening in Marble Falls on Nov. 21, with a party running from 2 p.m. to midnight that includes drink specials, snacks and giveaways throughout the day. The Main Street tasting room specializes in distilled honey spirits, turning its bees' work into everything from craft cocktails to small-batch shine.
According to Community Impact, the saloon actually first opened its doors in late September, meaning the Nov. 21 event marks a formal grand opening rather than a first unveiling. The business was founded in 2021 by the owners of Fain's Honey, Walker Honey Farm and Dancing Bee Winery, three honey-focused operations that joined forces to push mead-making in a new direction.
Packsaddle Nectars aims to transform traditional mead, or honey wine, into distilled honey spirits, the outlet reports. That mission shows up on the menu in the form of three house spirits: Somel, American Oak Somel and Honeyshine, alongside rotating seasonal cocktails, a signature cocktail list, beer and mead on draft, and a full wine list.
What Sets the Honey Spirits Apart
The distinctions between Packsaddle Nectars' core spirits come down to process and ingredients. Per Packsaddle Nectars, honey is the only fermentable sugar used in its Somel, which is made by distilling the company's own mead. The American Oak Somel follows the same distillation process but spends time aging on American oak, while Honeyshine gets an extra dose of pure, unfiltered, unpasteurized honey stirred into each batch after distillation.
The company notes it serves and sells its honey spirits directly at its Marble Falls location, 207 Main St., putting the full lineup within reach of anyone who walks through the saloon's doors.
A Years-Long Build Toward the Bar
The Marble Falls space didn't become a full saloon overnight. A June 2025 update from Craft Beer Austin described the operation as still selling all of its products, including the mead brand and the distilled honey beverage known as Somel, while the bar itself was nearly finished. The same report noted the team was almost finished building the bar at that point, well over a year before the grand opening was set.
That gap between the product sales described in the 2025 update and the saloon's late-September opening suggests a slow, deliberate rollout for the honey-forward concept. Now, with drinks, snacks and giveaways lined up for Nov. 21, Packsaddle Nectars is inviting Marble Falls to toast the finished product.
