Yellowstone Cocktails Old Fashioned Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

Yellowstone Bourbon was revived at the Lebanon, Kentucky’s Limestone Branch Distillery, which is now part of the MGP drinks empire, First Luxco acquired the Yellowstone brand, then they bought half of Limestone Branch and gave Yellowstone to them, and then MGP buying Luxco in turn.

In August, Limestone/Luxco/MGP announced they were launching a Yellowstone RTD cocktail line, which Limestone Branch Master Distiller Stephen Beam (yes, of the illustrious Beam dynasty) had a hand in crafting. I got to try the Old Fashioned, which combines blood orange, bitters, and cherry in a 70 proof take on the cocktail.

The RTD
Just for starters, I like the tough plastic bottle. The advantage of putting the RTD in something like that is the same as the logic behind the plastic Wild Turkey 101 travel bottling. I understand why almost everyone prefers glass, and for most circumstances I agree with them, but I can easily imagine bringing something like this backpacking. I would set it in a creek to cool off as I aired my feet and got to work on camp and dinner. You need a rugged bottle for that purpose, but also for travel generally.

My rule for RTD reviews is to measure them against the typical bar example of that cocktail, not an upper tier drink or even what I make at home (the latter is obviously tailored to my likes). By that measure, this is a good Old Fashioned. The citrus elements in particular really sing.

The Price
Expect to pay $24 for a 750ml bottle of Yellowstone Old Fashioned.