Yellowstone Bourbon Review

Whiskey Review: Yellowstone Select Bourbon

February 12, 2016 Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a free sample to review by the party behind it. The Whiskey Wash, while appreciative of this, did keep full independent editorial control over this article.

Yellowstone Bourbon has always been considered bottom-shelf swill. Luxco owns many brands of whiskey, including Yellowstone Bourbon, which dates back to 1872 when its national park’s name was established. Since Luxco’s partial acquisition of Lebanon, Kentucky-based Limestone Branch Distillery in 2014, the two companies have been hard at work rehabilitating the brand, and so far they’ve turned out two higher-end whiskeys.

Limestone Branch has an interest in Yellowstone because its owners, Paul Beam and Steve Beam (brothers), are both descendents from William Dant, J.B. being the original Yellowstone and M.C. distillers. Beam also owned a distillery in Yellowstone that Dant later bought. The whiskey was produced by both families until 1944 when Glenmore purchased it.

Limestone Branch does not have any connection to Yellowstone, other than a close family member. It is still very young. Until recently it produced only unaged spirits. The $105 Yellowstone Limited Edition was their first release under the Yellowstone brand. We reviewed it last October. Yellowstone Select is the newest, less expensive addition to their lineup.

Like its pricier cousin, Yellowstone Select is a sourced whiskey, made with a blend of four- and seven-year-old Kentucky bourbons. It is said to be a higher-rye mix, although no details on the mashbill are available. It’s bottled at 93 proof.

Whiskey Review Yellowstone Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon (2021).

Scott Bernard Nelson Bourbon , Our editorial policies do not allow this to influence the outcome of our review. Note that you can click on the buy button at the bottom to make a small referral payment. This will help support editorial costs but not impact them.

The blessings and curses of being tied to an established family business are both positive and negative. Stephen Beam, a brother and seventh-generation distiller from the Beam Family, has embraced the positive aspects of this equation.

Together, they started Limestone Branch Distillery in 2011. Four years later, they bought the rights to the Yellowstone brand name and began issuing new releases under the label. (The Beams have a lineage back to J. Bernard Dant (1872), who first distilled Yellowstone whisky. The Beams still age their juice in Kentucky warehouses. The Beams were able access Luxco aged whiskey, which they had partnered with Yellowstone, and began issuing Limited Edition Bourbon in 2015. They have always been passionate about the art of mixing.

In the 2016 edition, there was a mixture of 12- and 7-year-old high-rye Bourbons, which were finished in toasted barrels.

Version 2017 included 4-, 7 and 12-year-old Bourbons that were finished in double-seasoned wine barrels.

This year, it was a 7 year old Bourbon that had been finished in French Armagnac barrels.

The Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon of 2021 Yellowstone contains both 7-year & 15-year whiskies. They are aged in casks which previously contained Amarone della Valpolicella (an intense Italian red grape) and the younger Bourbon. The bottle is embossed and comes in 101 proof. It would be great on any bar.

Yellowstone Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review

This was my first post about it. I had to spend a lot of time researching the history and ecology of the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf ( Canis irremotus) in Yellowstone Park. The post started to get a bit complicated. But the truth is that it is a captivating, riveting story. It was decided by the government that the park needed to be vacated from the wolves in 1920. Many ecosystems in Yellowstone began to decline after the population dropped to nearly zero. Although the damage was obvious over time, many Yellowstone ecosystems suffered. It took nearly 70 year for the wolves’ reintroduction to become possible thanks to ignorant lobbyists as well as the slow pace of bureaucracy. It’s at this point that things become truly extraordinary. Wolves are known as apex predators, and the release of 31 wolves into the park in 1995, helped precipitate a trophic cascade. Trophic cadences are an expansion of ecological change that occurs when one or more of these apex prey species is removed. Elk herds, rodent relocation, insect populations, plant pollination and the course of rivers are all examples of the fluidity and fragility of an environment. If you are like me and get too excited about learning more about trophic howzits or apex, then I suggest looking at this entire story.

Many thanks for asking me if I’m an apex prey.

There will now be less wolves and much more whiskey. If you’re interested in a closer look at Yellowstone Brand, then I suggest that you check out my review of 2016 Yellowstone Limited Edition. Or, if you’d rather just get on with it and not go clicking around like a herd of predator-free elk, here’s a quick rundown. Yellowstone Brand was launched in 1872. The park is known for its wolves, elk, and trophic cascading. Over the years it went through several ownership changes and became a poor bottom-shelf bourbon. In 2015, the company that owned Yellowstone, Luxco , purchased a 50% share in a new distillery named Limestone Branch . Limestone Branch was founded by two Beams, Stephen and Paul, who happen to be relatives of J.B. Dant, one of the founders of the Yellowstone brand. Luxco returned Yellowstone’s brand to the people who helped it be created, similar to US wildlife officers returning wolves back to their habitat. After that, they got back to work on restoring the brand to its former splendor. Since 2015 they have released exceptional limited editions every year and launched this core brand, Yellowstone Select in 2016.

is at this point a sourced whiskey. Limestone Branch has added some of their own spirit to the last two Yellowstone limited editions, but do not have enough stock yet to supply a widely released expression such as this. Given Luxco’s involvement with Limestone Branch, and their long relationship with Heaven Hill, Heaven Hill seems the best guess as to where this bourbon comes from. Yellowstone Select is believed to consist of four- to seven year-old bourbons. The bottle also features a David Cole Creative great label.

It is indeed last year’s model that we have reviewed. The most recent iteration of the Select features a raised glass bottle and an even greater label from David Cole Creative, and by greater I mean more contrast, a bit easier to read, and better stand-out-on-the-shelf-ness. This is the new bottle. But it is still the same whiskey.

The Nose. Light, sweet, and dry. The tart greenish apples are soaked in thick caramel with some orange zest and Montmorency cherries. Behind that, almost smoky, dry vanilla bean, and burnt sugars – think caramelized bananas or slightly overdone candied nuts. Toasted almonds and leather are subtle, but still very prominent oak flavors. The wood is accompanied by cinnamon, nutmeg and subtler hints ginger and pepper.

Palate: The palate has a lighter mouthfeel, and is a little more vibrant and active than what you smell. Although the citrus tartness and sweetness of lemon are present, the palate also contains a good deal more dark sugar, such as dark honey, butterscotch, or Demerara sugar. The vanilla bean is stronger and there are strong, rich, candied nuts notes. There’s also a small amount of dark, bitter chocolaty chocolate. Toasty, slightly peppery, herbaceous, and minty are the predominant rye flavors. You will find stronger oak flavors with more warming spices, clove and black pepper. There is also a hint of star anise.

Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon Review (2021)

Jim Vorel Although that isn’t happening yet, Limestone Branch Distillery continues to age, and awaits its time in the sun. However, the distillery still produces its Yellowstone line sourced whiskeys. MGP of Indiana owns parent company Luxco, giving them access to all kinds of Kentucky Bourbon goodies. But the LBD manages to put its own authoritative stamp on one of those brands in particular, in the form of the yearly Limited Edition Bourbon, which typically contains portions finished in a variety of wine casks.

Last year, 2020 Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon contained a 7 years-old whiskey, aged in Armagnac brandy casks. The whiskey was then blended with Kentucky straight Bourbon whiskeys. With the 2021 Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon featuring whiskey in Amarone, it is a new area of focus.

Amarone, although not well-known in America, is an Italian red wine. It’s made of partially dried grapes from a small number of varietals. This adds to the wine’s potency (ABV) and makes it more concentrated. Additionally, flavors take on a deeper, darker fruit flavor. These flavors would be expected to continue into Bourbon aged in Amarone casks, however it is impossible to know for certain.

This particular 2021 Limited Edition release seems to be made from whiskey in two age ranges: 7-year-old bourbon finished for an undetailed amount of time in Amarone casks, and 15-year-old Kentucky bourbon. Blended at 50.5% ABV, the batch contained approximately 22,500 bottles. This is a half-year increase over 2020. Although it has a MSRP price of $99 I must point out that the word “limited edition” appears in very subtle and small print. This makes me wonder if many consumers may misunderstand its meaning.

We’ll let them taste and find out how this year’s LE turned out.

The aroma is pleasant and fruity. There’s a balance in the wine between bright red (raspberry), darker notes, and vinous. This wine is brightened by its brightness, with the jammy, brambly notes adding some mystery. The fruit notes are paired with hints of musty, older oak and some nuttiness/nut butter, evoking roasted pecans or almond with toffee. There’s a bit of maple, a bit of cocoa, and a suggestion of enticing richness.

With each new sip, the taste of this wine is more appealing to me. Again, the wine is full of red fruit. It has both more intense top notes than darker notes. The darker, jammer notes are stronger, but it also contains some citrus. Although I am tasting a lot of toffee, vanilla and some spicy ginger, this beer is not too hot. But, you can get used to the taste of ethanol/spice heat. Overall, the heat is well-structured. The sweetness is mild and well-balanced, with a touch of mature oak.

Review Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon

Welcome to a review of what may be the most handsomely packaged bottle of bourbon in 2015 – Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon. True, design is only skin deep but I’m not going to hide my love for the packaging of Limestone Branch Distillery’s latest release. These tube and bottle designs were created by marketing professionals who did a great job. They take cues both from old lettering and traditional printing techniques but still retain enough modern flair that they don’t look too far-fetched. The bottle will be a great addition to your bar, or even in your Bourbon. Limestone Branch is expected to first distill Yellowstone bourbon from the original recipe in 2015 and age it. Limestone Branch Distillery is planning to continue working on its white spirits products. This partnership will focus initially on Limestone Branch distilling Yellowstone bourbon’s original recipe, and then ageing it until 2015.

Below is some information from Limestone Brand Distillery’s official press release.

(Lebanon, Ky.) September 1, 2015 – Limestone Branch Distillery introduces Yellowstone Limited Edition, set to hit the market in October. With only 6,000 bottles produced, this ultra-premium bourbon is the marriage of a seven-year rye, a seven-year wheated and a 12-year rye – a combination that creates an exceptional depth of flavor and complexity.

Steve Beam of Limestone Branch Distillery is the president and chief distiller. “Given our partnership with Luxco and the access they have to high-quality bourbon, we were able to hand-select ‘honey barrels’ for this small batch to find the best complementary flavors to enhance the seven-year bourbon and create just the right combination so the bourbon hits different areas of the palate for a superior experience.” Once he found the perfect bourbons, Beam added his own distinctive spin to the final product. The bourbon contained some chill-filtered bourbon, while other bourbons were not. What makes this blend unique is the addition of seven years of rye to the twelve-year barrels. This allowed for more flavor extraction and enrichment. The barrels were reused to allow the younger bourbons pick up more mature flavors, such as cinnamon, caramel, and some smoky tones. Yellowstone Limited Edition is bottled at 105 Proof to celebrate the 105th birthday of Steve Beam’s great-grandfather Minor Case Beam. It also marks the sale of his Old Trump Distillery, which was owned by Joseph Bernard Dant. Dant is a relative and pioneer distiller.

“It’s been a dream for my brother Paul and I to return the Yellowstone brand back to our family,” says Beam. The bourbon will bring both our families together – the Beams, the Dants and their legacy in the distilling industry – ” This was why we joined Luxco to help Yellowstone return home, and start distilling it and bottling it here at Limestone Branch.” Paul Beam and Steve Beam founded Limestone Branch Distillery. It is well-known for Moon Pie Moonshine as well as T.J. Pottinger Sugar Shine. 6 whiskey. With a history of distilling on both sides of their family, the brothers are seventh-generation distillers.

Yellowstone Limited Edition will officially launch during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival which takes place in Historic Bardstown from September 15-20th 2015. Retail price suggested for this bourbon: $105.

For more information on Limestone Branch Distillery and Yellowstone, please visit www.limestonebranch.com, www.yellowstonebourbon.com or www.facebook.com/limestone-branch-distillery.

.Yellowstone Bourbon Review