Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon Review (2018)

By Father John Rayls

Rating: B+

Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon 2018
(Credit: John Rayls)

Of course, all of us are familiar with the name “Yellowstone.” The national park associated with the name conjures up images of immense size, beauty and ruggedness. The original founder of Yellowstone Bourbon, JB Dant, had those associations very much in mind for his whiskey. Limestone Branch Distillery is the current owner of the brand, and has issued several versions of Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon Whiskey.  Stephen Beam, who runs Limestone Distillery, is a direct descendant of the Dants and is connected to the original Dant Distillery and the subsequent Taylor and Williams Distillery original producers of Yellowstone.

The 2018 version is mostly sourced Kentucky bourbon, finished in #3 char wine casks and bottled at 101 proof. It’s a mixture of 4 to 12 year old bourbons, along with small amounts of Luxco’s own distillate.  Luxco moved the program forward significantly with their own distillation and aging that should be appearing in the not too distant future.

The Bourbon
The color is a dark brownish/amber with copper highlights. This gives it a dark and rich appearance in the glass. The legs are slow and reluctant, but spotty which left me with some ambivalent feelings about the whiskey.

The nose is of medium intensity, but has some slight burning and constant tingling. The aroma is saturated with a strong presence of fruit and wine but with plenty of room for the caramel and oak underneath. The combination forms an overall earthy presence.

The tasting experience occurs mid-mouth all the way to the back, with a mouthfeel that is very dry through to the finish. The flavors appear immediately and mirror the nose. Caramel is the foundation, but the wine barrel prevails with a very forward fresh fruit/wine flavor with oak as its profile.  The result is a fruity earthiness and there is a growing warming constantly present.

The finish is medium in length, continuing with the existing flavor profile, but with a growing presence of oak and leather in the warmth.

The Price
A bottle of Yellowstone LE 2018 should set you back about $100.