When this half pint bottle of Yellowstone Bourbon was bottled, Yellowstone was becoming the best-selling Bourbon in Louisville /Jefferson County, Kentucky. At the time, the brand was owned by Glenmore Distilleries and was made, aged and bottled in Louisville. The Yellowstone Distillery was one of the active distilleries in a two mile area of Shively and Louisville. Besides Yellowstone, Brown-Forman, Seagram, Stitzel-Weller and Hill & Hill were in this area. Closed by 1970, but still in the area were the Four Roses and Glencoe Distilleries.
The Yellowstone Distillery was owned by Glenmore, and Glenmore’s owner, Buddy Thompson, considered it his favorite distillery. The column still was made with a special set of reflux panels that Thompson thought made the whiskey extra “mellow” and he created the brand “Mellowmash” from the whiskey made at this distillery. They made great whiskey at this distillery and this bottle is a fine example of that quality whiskey. At the time that this bottle was produced, the whiskey would have cost the consumer a couple of dollars for the half pint. Today, the same half pint would cost considerably more if you found one for sale.
Yellowstone Bottled-in-Bond 1965-1971
Proof: 100
Age: Six Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Corn, caramel, apricots and sweet oak with a hint of baking spices.
- Matt: Caramel, Nutmeg and Oak. A very simple nose.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel corn, apricots allspice, nutmeg and oak. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the spice is enhanced with some additional spice in the form of ginger. Tasted with a pecan and the fruit comes forward with a hint of lemon zest joining the apricots.
- Matt: Caramel and buttered toffee and brown sugar. Sweet, with only a hint of spice and oak. Tasted with a dried cranberry and nutmeg spice and a little note of citrus come out. Tasted with a pecan and apricot fruit comes forward with some lemon zest.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and baking spices. The dried cranberry enhanced the spice and caramel making the finish a little shorter and sweeter. The pecan made the finish very long with lots of oak wood, baking spices and some lingering tartness of lemon zest.
- Matt: Medium long with sweet oak and leather. The cranberry allowed the nutmeg spice to linger into the finish. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, nutmeg spice and fine leather.
I would pair this Bourbon with a Nat Sherman Pan Americana Gordo cigar. I think the well-balanced smoke with its notes of vanilla and spice would enhance the flavors found in this Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller