Tasting Notes – Yellowstone Select Bourbon

This post sponsored by the Glencairn Whisky Glass

Limestone Branch distillery is now what I call a “mature” distillery. By that I mean that they have been around long enough that they are bottling whiskey that they have made and matured themselves. They are a small distillery and don’t have a lot of whiskey to bottle, but their products are available in select markets. More importantly, they are making their whiskey available for private selected barrels by liquor stores and bars. That is the story on this bottle of Bourbon.

This bottle of Yellowstone was selected by Westport Whiskey & Wine, a liquor store in Louisville that has built a reputation for having great bottles of private select whiskeys. This bottle does not disappoint. The whiskey was distilled at Limestone Branch and matured in a full-sized, 53-gallon barrel. It is 4 years old. The bottle itself is a throw-back to the Yellowstone bottle of the 1960s. It is a similar shape bottle, embossed on the shoulder with “Yellowstone Bourbon” and a “Y” in a circle. The older bottles are embossed in a similar manner. The label is of a similar design as well using the same fonts for the text. However, I think that the current design is a little better than the old design. I like the colored illustration of the falls at Yellowstone better than the old black and white illustration. The Bourbon inside the bottle is a rich amber color and very good whiskey. Does it taste like the old Yellowstone? Once again, it has a similar flavor profile, but not quite the same. In this case, I think it is just as good as what was made in Shively, Ky. and maybe a little better.

Yellowstone Select Bourbon – Westport Whiskey & Wine Selection

Proof: 93

Age: 4 Years Old

Nose: Vanilla, sweet corn with floral notes – lavender? Roses? It is hard to decide. A hint of oak and spice round out the nose.

Taste: Vanilla, black pepper spice, and oak up front with a little buttered caramel in the background. When tasted with a dried cranberry, some lemon zest comes out of nowhere, adding a little more complexity to the flavor. When tasted with a pecan, the oak is the main flavor up front with a little cayenne pepper instead of black pepper.

Finish: Long and dry with some sweet oak and pepper. The cranberry reduces the pepper in the finish making the oak dominate the long finish. The pecan makes the finish very peppery with cayenne pepper and oak. I am pairing this Bourbon with a Drew Estate Corona Undercrown Pequene Maduro cigar. I find the smoke of this cigar to have notes of caramel and coffee with a little hay and cedar spiciness. The Bourbon brings out a note of chocolate and adds sweetness to the smoke. The smoke brings out notes of creamy French vanilla in the Bourbon. An excellent pairing for an after-dinner drink and cigar.