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Yellowstone Bourbon - Honoring America's First National Park, One Sip at a Time

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Background

The current Yellowstone whiskey brand is produced at the Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky, about an hour and a half south of Louisville and about 30 minutes south of Bardstown by car. 

In 1871, Charles Townsend, a sales manager at the liquor wholesale house Taylor & Williams, traveled to the newly created Yellowstone National Park, where he saw the famous geyser, Old Faithful. Townsend was so taken with this national wonder that he created and named a bourbon brand, Yellowstone, to honor it. Taylor & Williams contracted production with the J.T. Dant's Cold Spring Distillery in Gethsemane. Unfortunately, the distillery closed and was dismantled during American Prohibition. The Dant family established Yellowstone, Inc. and built a distillery in 1933 in Shively, Jefferson County. The Yellowstone Distillery and its brand were purchased by Glenmore Distilleries, Inc. in 1944. It eventually closed in 1970. 

Fast forward to October of 2010, Stephen and Paul Beam decided to become Kentucky Bourbon Distillers because when your last name is Beam and you're from Kentucky, why not? They formed the Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky, because there was good local access to grains and limestone water. Stephen and Paul broke ground on Limestone Branch on May 26, 2011. With the help of their father, who still had ties to the local bourbon community, the brothers reconstructed a small distillery inspired by distilleries of previous generations. Stephan Beam, the founder and master distiller, has a long whiskey-making lineage. On one side, his great-great-grandfather was renowned bourbon pioneer Joseph Washington Dant. Heaven Hill makes a bourbon called J.W. Dant that also honors his legacy. 

On the other side of the family, Stephan Beam's great-grandfather was Minor Case Beam, who began working in the bourbon business in 1871. By 1883, he was a master distiller in his own right. Minor Case's work in the bourbon business was cut short by prohibition. Minor Case Beam specifically inspired Stephan Beam to open his own distillery finally. The yeast used at Limestone Branch today is a clone of the yeast collected from MC Beam's own jug yeast, which they keep at the distillery. In addition to Yellowstone, Limestone Branch Distillery produces a Sherry cask-finished 4-year-old rye whiskey called Minor Case. 

Photo by Yellowstone

In 2015, they formed a partnership with the spirits supplier Luxco to produce the brand at Limestone Branch with the creation of the Yellowstone Select Kentucky Bourbon label. The Luxco portfolio also includes other brands like Ezra Brooks and Rebel Bourbon, Exotico and El Mayor Tequila, Saint Brendan's Irish Cream, The Quiet Man Irish Whiskey, and my personal favorite, Everclear Grain Alcohol. Just kidding. 

Side note: the contract distiller and food ingredients producer MGP acquired Luxco in 2021, so they are the ultimate parent company, but their subsidiary Luxco still manages the Yellowstone brand. Finally, despite what people think, there is no connection between the brand and the popular neo-western TV show by Paramount starring Kevin Costner.

Philanthropy

Photo by Yellowstone

Next, I want to highlight two worthwhile organizations that the Yellowstone brand supports to ensure they are doing their part to help organizations across the globe to conserve unique places like the National Parks. Successful companies have a duty to give back; with a name like Yellowstone, this is a perfect combination. They have a great line on their website that I really love. "In sharing our name with America's first National Park, we want to do our part in ensuring this bond of park and bourbon runs deeper than name alone."

The first organization is the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Yellowstone partnered with the NPCA in 2018 to support their mission to protect and preserve our National Parks. In 2023, Yellowstone donated $250,000 to them, making the brand one of the NPCA's most significant corporate benefactors. The second organization is the Trans Canada Trail, which connects people with the parks and nature across Canada. In 2023, Yellowstone will contribute $30,000 to the Trans Canada Trail. 

Photo by Yellowstone

Yellowstone Select, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

The Yellowstone Select is the brand's flagship product. It combines 4-year-old and 7-year-old bourbon distilled from a mash bill of 75 % corn, 13 % rye, and 12 % malted barley and bottled at 93 proof (46.5 % ABV). Yellowstone Select won a gold medal at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

  • Note - Rye spice with soft, leathered cherries

  • Palate - Smoked caramel with hints of vanilla and honey

  • Finish - Smoky oak brown sugar

Photo by Yellowstone

Yellowstone Toasted, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Toasted Oak Staves

The Yellowstone Toasted was the first release in the "Special Finishes Collection." This product starts as the 4-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey distilled from a mash bill of 75 % corn, 13 % rye, and 12 % malted barley used for the Yellowstone Select. Next, the bourbon is finished with toasted staves for an undisclosed period. The brand offers little transparency on this product, but they tell us they use at least five toast-style staves. The staves used for the second finishing are described as high toast, American oak double toast, high vanilla, rick house, and spice rack staves. The final product is bottled at 100 proof (50 % ABV). Yellowstone Toasted won a double gold medal at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

I'll provide a general explanation for toasted-finished bourbons because they are so popular these days. Once the base bourbon has reached the target flavor profile, in this case, it's around four years, and additional wooden staves are added inside that barrel for a specific period. For Yellowstone Toasted, the company does not tell us how long they finish this product. The added staves have been toasted for particular lengths to generate an ideal flavor they might impart. For example, specific toasting methods might develop a strong vanilla or coffee flavor in the whiskey. Usually, a producer will add a combination of staves, imparting different types of oak flavor and hopefully creating greater complexity.

  • Nose - Toasted caramel, vanilla, hints of fall spices and cinnamon

  • Palate - Walnut, toffee, black tea and white pepper

  • Finish - Cocoa and tobacco with a crisp oak finish

Photo by Yellowstone

Yellowstone Rum Cask, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Rum Casks

The Yellowstone Rum Cask is the second release in the "Special Finishes Collection." At the time of writing, in October 2024, this is the newest release from the brand. This product starts as the 4-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey distilled from a mash bill of 75 % corn, 13 % rye, and 12 % malted barley used for the Yellowstone Select. Next, the bourbon is cask-finished for 9 weeks in rum barrels sourced from Havana, Cuba. The final product is bottled at 100 proof (50 % ABV). 

  • Nose - Gingerbread, poached pear and fresh-cut hay

  • Palate - Toasted marshmallow, crème brûlée, toffee and toasted oak

  • Finish - Tobacco, clove and cocoa-seasoned oak with a long honey finish

Photo by Yellowstone

Yellowstone American Single Malt Whiskey

The Yellowstone American Single Malt Whiskey is not a bourbon but a 4-year-old whiskey distilled from malted barley at a single distillery. They do not disclose what style of malt(s) they use. This product is bottled at 108 proof (54 % ABV). 

  • Nose - Cereal malt and honey with a hint of peach blossom

  • Palate - Sweet medium body with notes of honey, pear, stone fruit and dates

  • Finish - Notes of oak with hints of cinnamon and English walnuts

Photo by Yellowstone

Yellowstone Limited Edition, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in Cognac and Brandy Casks (2024)

The Yellowstone Limited Edition is an annual limited-release product that explores the brand's most premium blends and cask finishes. Each release is unique and different from the previous year. Like most limited-release products, this usually becomes available in the fall. The 2024 expression is a 7-year-old and 17-year-old bourbon double-finished in French brandy and Cognac casks and bottled at 101 proof (50.5 % ABV).

Photo by Yellowstone

Yellowstone Hand Picked Collection, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Yellowstone offers a customer-pick or store-pick single-barrel program. These products will be bottled as a single barrel at barrel proof.  They are all slightly different because no two barrel-proof single barrels are the same. The production and bottling details should be available on the label. 

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The Complete Guide to Wyoming Whiskey - Wyoming's First Legal Distillery

Background 

Wyoming Whiskey was the first legal distillery in the state, located in the Big Horn Basin in Kirby, Wyoming. In 2006, fourth-generation ranchers, as well as lawyers Brad and Kate Mead, wanted to diversify their business ventures by making Wyoming's first premium whiskey using only regional ingredients. The Mead family first came to Wyoming in 1890. For more than a century, the family's ranches in Spring Gulch and Kirby have thrived, taking their place as permanent staples in the Wyoming community and landscape. They were joined by friend and fellow lawyer David DeFazio, whom they met through their firm. Since the group had no whiskey-making experience, they brought in Steve Nally, a 33-year veteran of Maker's Mark. He was the keystone of Wyoming Whiskey's early development, creating the recipe for their first product and the processes to craft it. Steve's background at Maker's Mark makes it easy to see why the brand uses a wheated bourbon mash bill. Edrington, an international spirits company and the parent company for Macallan and Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky, recently purchased a majority share of the brand.

Photo from Wyoming Whiskey's Facebook

A Sense of Place 

Wyoming Whiskey is distilled grain-to-glass in Kirby, Wyoming. The whiskey is never sourced, and the distillery does not do any contract distillation for other brands. The brand uses a wheated bourbon mash bill of 68 % corn, 20 % wheat, and 12 % malted barley. The distillery sources non-GMO corn, wheat, barley, and rye locally from Wyoming farmers. It's essential for the owners to know who grows their grains. Their partners, Brent and Sherri Rageth in Byron, Wyoming, have worked with Wyoming Whiskey from the start to select strains of non-GMO corn, winter wheat, barley, and winter rye for specific starch and sugar yields because those are the building blocks of whiskey-making. Brent cultivates a corn strain that matures in 90 days, ideal for Wyoming's high-elevation short growing season. Here is an example of the grain quantity required to produce one batch of bourbon: One cooking mash contains 2,166 gallons (8,199 liters) of liquid, 1,100 gallons (4,164 liters) of water, and 450 gallons (1,703 liters) of backset. There will be 57 bushels of grain, including 3,183 pounds (1,444 kilograms) of corn, 951 pounds (431 kilograms) of wheat, and 570 pounds (259 kilograms) of malted barley. To clarify, sour mash, sometimes referred to as backset, takes some of the residue from the first distillation run and places it back in the fermenter for use in the next round of fermentation. The backset is very acidic and essential in fermentation. The sour mashing process assists in creating a consistent product from one batch to another.

Water is a crucial and often forgotten ingredient in the production of all distilled spirits. Your whiskey is only as good as your water. Wyoming Whiskey has access to an unrivaled glacier-fed source of water. A mile below Manderson, Wyoming, lies the Madison Formation, a limestone aquifer from which they source their water. This limestone rock is millions of years old, and the water that it filters hasn't seen the light of day since the Bronze Age, over 6,000 years ago. A bourbon brand's recipe is the mash bill plus their yeast strain. Without yeast, there would be no fermentation, and each distillery's unique yeast strain is a particular building block that helps achieve the desired flavor profile. Wyoming Whiskey uses a combination of two yeasts: a high-yield yeast and a second proprietary yeast that yields a bit less but produces a slightly fruitier alcohol.

Photo from Wyoming Whiskey's Facebook

Production

Their whiskey is double distilled on-site in small batches using a custom-made column still from Vendome Copper and Brass that is 18 inches wide and 38 feet tall.  All Wyoming Whiskey's products are aged for a minimum of 5 years in one of six rack houses in the unique terroir of Kirby with its natural hot and cold temperature swings, ranging from 135°F (52°C) at the height of summer to -30°F (-34°C) in the depths of winter. The aging temperatures can fluctuate dramatically from day to night. These temperature swings and heat intensity causes barrels to breathe in and out, taking the best flavors and colors from the oak. That's tough on people but good for the whiskey. The brand maintains an old-school mentality, believing nothing can replicate the magic from the simple combination of time, temperature, and charred oak. The brand's flagship product is called Small Batch. Every brand defines its version of a small batch differently. Wyoming Whiskey bottles are around 48 to 53 barrels for their batch size. They pull from a "pyramid of barrels" in the rack house to achieve a consistent flavor profile. Since they do not rotate their barrels, this is the best way to mingle with their batch.  Sometimes, achieving the desired flavor profile takes a few extra barrels. Edrington, the brand's parent company, specializes in Sherry cask-finished whiskey, especially with their most popular brand, Macallan Single Malt Scotch Whisky. I believe they even own their own Sherry Bodega in Spain now. The Double Cask label is finished for 6 to 13 weeks in Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks. They reuse the barrels several times, so the exact length of time varies slightly. Each batch is tested to ensure it has hit the correct amount of secondary maturation. 

Photo by Brian Donnelly

Photo by Brian Donnelly

Wyoming Whiskey, Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

Small Batch is a wheated bourbon, distilled grain-to-glass at Wyoming's first legal distillery. It is the brand's flagship and defining product. All Wyoming Whiskey is distilled at their distillery in Kirby, located in the Big Horn Basin, from a mash bill of 68 % corn, 20 % wheat, and 12 % malted barley. All grains are sourced locally from Wyoming, and all water is sourced from a glacier-fed limestone aquifer. Their bourbon is aged on-site at the distillery for a minimum of 5 years in the dramatic temperature swings ranging from 135°F at the height of summer to -30°F in the depths of winter, which cause barrels to breathe in and out, taking the best flavors and colors from the oak. This product is bottled in small batches, around 50 barrels at 88 proof (44 % ABV). Wyoming became the 44th state of the United States on July 10, 1890. The brand pays a small homage with their alcohol by volume bottling strength.

Wyoming Whiskey, Double Cask, Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Sherry Casks

Double Cask starts with the same 5-year-old wheated bourbon used for the Small Batch label. Edrington, the brand's parent company, specializes in Sherry cask-finished whiskey, especially with their most popular brand, Macallan Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The base bourbon is cask-finished (secondary maturation)  for 6 to 13 weeks in Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks. They reuse the barrels several times, so the exact length of time varies slightly. Each batch is tested to ensure it has hit the correct amount of secondary maturation. This product is bottled at 100 proof (50 % ABV). 

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Please Drink Responsibly.