Lifestyle

Beer-Toting Burros Bring the Fun to Your Hill Country Party

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Tony Maples Photography

 

If, when you were younger, you had visions of a trusty St. Bernard running to your rescue with a keg of alcohol strapped under his neck, the adult version of that story might not be that far off. Only now, you’ll be staring into the loving eyes of a traveling beer burro instead of a dog, and you’ll be in the Texas Hill Country and not the Swiss Alps!

Pack Saddles Filled with Spirits

txhillcountryeventsdotcom

Photo: txhillcountryevents.com

Owner of Texas Hill Country Events, Alisha Randig, has started booking traveling beer burros from her business in Dripping Springs to carry drinks, event favors, and food to guests attending local soirées. Although a concept Randig didn’t originally have in her business plan, it has quickly become a practical requisite at some Hill Country events she caters. Her company has gone from simply supplying bartenders to now training bartenders to lead these beer-laden burros and their spirit-filled pack saddles through event venues.

John Wayne and Annie Oakley

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Photo: David Sedlmayer via Visualhunt / CC BY

A special request by a Texas Hill Country barbecue joint prompted Randig to get two burros from Craigslist. Handlers at the event company learned how to prep and load the miniature donkeys with the beer bundles needed for thirsty guests. Their names (never more fitting) are John Wayne and Annie Oakley. From there the requests poured in, and now Texas Hill Country Events owns seven of these beasts of beverage (because beer is never a burden).

Handle With Care

buggybarnmuseumdotcom

Photo: buggybarnmuseum.com

Randig knew she needed help training her new employees, so she reached out to Dennis Moore in Blanco, who owns the Buggy Barn Museum. They trained the crew for two months and explained to Randig and her staff how to care for and handle the animals properly. Now these mini marvels carry anything from beer to party favors to food and make their rounds at each event serving guests.

A Bartender and His Donkey Are a Glorious Pair

Beer-Touting Burros Bring the Fun to the Party!

Photo: Flickr/RistoKuulasmaa

Dripping Springs claims the title of the unofficial “wedding capital of Texas” and the concept has really taken off for the company in the Texas-themed weddings department. “Each donkey gets a TABC certified bartender and a handler and so they can actually serve the alcohol at any venue, and we carry liquor liability insurance so we’re covered anywhere we go,” Randig said. And now, when you get home late from a wedding serviced by beer-touting burros, you can truly say you were “drunk off your…donkey.”