Yellowstone 2018 Limited Edition
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Finished in No 3 Char Wine Cask
50.5% ABV
$100
Website
What the Producer Says
Limestone Branch Distillery introduces the 2018 variety of Yellowstone® Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon, the third and final barrel finishing experiment by Limestone Branch Distillery, set to hit the market in October. This year’s final limited edition combines hand-selected, Kentucky Straight bourbons, ranging from four to 12 years in aging and finished in No. 3 char wine casks. Same as with the 2017 edition, this year’s special edition also includes Limestone Branch Distillery’s own distillate, carefully made with their signature heirloom white corn.
“The Yellowstone Limited Edition variants have been an incredible outlet for my creativity and flair for experimenting,” says Steve Beam, president and distiller of Limestone Branch Distillery. “We started the process in 2016 and I am proud of the three limited editions we created – and how they are linked to each other.”
Beam tells the story of the evolution of these three variants. “In 2016, we finished our Limited Edition bourbon in specially selected new wine barrels, which lent their special flavor to that year’s celebrated bourbon, but their journey had barely begun. Later that year, after the bourbon was dumped and bottled, the same 28 barrels were lightly charred and we filled them with our 2017 Limited Edition bourbon. This year, we took the very same barrels – now rich with complexity – and deeply charred them before filling them with our 2018 Limited Edition.”
The barrel journey, and the hand-selected bourbon used in these products, created a rich flavor profile. Beam notes that the heavy char over bourbon-wet oak produced a rich palate of burnt sugar, deep caramel and a lingering essence of crème brulée.
Bottled at 101 proof and available in 750ml bottles signed by Steve Beam and nestled in commemorative tubes, the 2018 Yellowstone Limited Edition marks the final piece of this award-winning trilogy.
Approximately 12,000 bottles of this bourbon are being produced this fall at Limestone Branch Distillery, and the suggested retail price is $99.99.
What Gary Says
Nose: Vanilla, caramel, allspice, sour oak with hints of cigar paper, hazelnuts, milk chocolate with a subtle wine twang.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, honey, salted caramel with hazelnuts that sharpens with spicy wine notes and dried apricots.
Finish: Moderately long, slightly drying with some pepper spice at the end.
Comments: A lot of folks are experimenting with different finishes, and bourbon has such an intense flavor – some folks I think wind up going over the top. This is not one of those cases. The wine cask finish is done very well, hot heavy handed in the least, but not so light that you don’t recognize it is there. In my opinion, this is where “finishing” is meant to be. I imagine that this would be a delicious bourbon even without that extra bit, but I’m delighted that they’ve taken care in the balance. I hadn’t tried the previous Yellowstone limited editions so unfortunately can’t compare, but on its own this is a very well crafted whiskey. If you are a fan of finished bourbons in particular, I’d push this up to a ‘Must Try’.
Rating: Stands Out/Must Try
We would like to thank Limestone Branch and Common Ground PR for sending us samples to review.