Background

Had the privilege recently of attending a Yellowstone Tasting/Pick Release put on by J St Whiskey in DC. Quick disclaimer, this is a group (and the Yellowstone pick in particular) I’m involved with- so I will not be reviewing the J St Yellowstone pick, as that would not be particularly objective! The Limited Editions, on the other hand, were sourced by us for the tasting and we were lucky enough to have Master Distiller Stephen Beam (yes, that Beam family) and legendary Brand Ambassador Stephen Fante join via Zoom to walk us through these. Each limited release is unique, so I’ve provided some details on the release specifics alongside notes below!

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2019 (9 Years, 101 Proof)

Release Details: The most straightforward of the bunch, a blend of 9 & 12 year bourbon

Nose: Fairly straight down the middle caramel vanilla forward nose. The occasional whiff of florals and peanut brittle.

Palate: Lemon pound cake, vanilla frosting, nutmeg

Finish: Barrel spice, vanilla custard, cornbread

Very Good (6/10)

Overall: A well executed, nicely balanced and tasty bourbon. The most straightforward release gets a solid thumbs up from me, it’s a good whiskey that contains a lot of standard bourbon notes.

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2020 (7 Years, 101 Proof)

Release Details: 7 year bourbon finished in French Armagnac barrels

Nose: Sweeeet! Buttercream frosting, candy corn, floral honey

Palate: Soft and syrupy, maple, lemon peel, citrus and some berry notes

Finish: Lemon, medium length and gentle caramel and spice finish. Cinnamon, cloves, peanut brittle.

Very Good to Great (6.5/10)

Overall: The Armagnac imbues this with a nice syrupy texture that I really enjoy. It’s not bursting at the seams with flavor- but it’s sweet and syrupy without going completely overboard on the finish.

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2021 (7 Years, 101 Proof)

Release Details: 7 & 15 year bourbon finished in Amarone casks

Nose: Pure melted caramel, orange peels, delicate hints of red fruits

Palate: Lemonhead candies, sweet pound cake, and again subtle hints of black cherry

Finish: Big citrus still, long, sour candies, black pepper nicely tannic, dark chocolate, longest finish so far.

Very Good (6/10)

Overall: It’s another nice offering, though I was kind of hoping the red wine cask finish would come through a littleeeee more on the nose and the palate. My guess is that what’s coming through on the delightfully long finish, but turn up the volume on those red fruit notes and I’d be over the moon for this one.

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2022 (7 Years, 101 Proof)

Release Details: Blend of 7-year, 15-year and 16-year-aged bourbons, finished in Marsala Superiore casks.

Nose: Yellow cake, berry compote, blackberry

Palate: Jammy! Brown sugar, maple syrup, dark berries. Fruity and really fun.

Finish: Cinnamon sugar, cloves, maple and black pepper. Sweet and spicy in all the right ways!

Great (7/10)

Overall: Now this is what I’m talking about on the cask finish! A delicious and rich sip with some really playful fruit notes. On the whole, I’m happy to see this one holds up so well (and better in my opinion) to the earlier releases. Sometimes in bourbon, I think there can be this perception that releases are never quite as good as the preceding ones, especially where sourced juice is involved. This release to me shows Limestone Branch is continuing to innovate nicely on their annual offering. Excited to see what they do this year!