A formerly popular historical label has been revived and saved from its recent bottom-shelf status.  The origin of Yellowstone lies with the union of the Beam and Dant families 105 years ago, and continued today at Limestone Branch Distillery with brothers Steve and Paul Beam.

Luxco owned the Yellowstone name, but now in partnership with Limestone Branch, the brand reunited with the family re-launched with a limited edition 105-proof Bourbon, sourced and blended from 12 and seven-year Bourbons using rye as the secondary grain, and a seven-year Bourbon using wheat as the secondary grain.  Limestone Branch has followed this initial reintroduction with a lower-proof and lower-priced regular production Yellowstone Select, but the Limited Edition is up first:

Dark amber with a slight reddish hue.

Caramel, brown sugar, and vanilla dominate, with other subtle aromas, like fresh clover, creamed corn, oak, leather, and very slight mint.  I would not have guessed that it is over 100 proof.

Consistent with the aromas, the flavors start with creamy, buttery caramel and vanilla flavors, with brown sugar and fig to add another dimension of sweetness.  Then the flavors shift to cinnamon, leather, and more oak than I expected from a Bourbon using two seven-year components, followed with a transition to something much more unique:  a tang of black tea.  A single large ice cube made Yellowstone creamier, and contrary to my usual experience of ice accentuating sweet flavors, here it amplified the rye spice.

The finish was longish, and was overall dry, despite some corn sweetness, with a nice swell of rye spice (almost prickly) and lingering warmth.

Blending Bourbons that use different secondary grains is a fantastic idea, and it provides an opportunity for home-blenders to experiment as well.  Here, although we do not know the percentages used, the flavors suggest a higher usage-rate of the 12-year Bourbon.  It’s arguable that we ought to be told which percentages were used in accordance with 27 C.F.R. § 5.40(a)(1), (e)(1), (e)(2) and TTB’s The Beverage Alcohol Manual; A Practical Guide, Basic Mandatory Labeling Information for DISTILLED SPIRITS, vol. 2, at Chapter 8 (2012), but the seven-year age statement on the front label is arguably sufficient.  Either way, I expect more blending of different mash bills as producers seek to distinguish themselves in a crowded market.

Although I’ve removed value as a component of my ratings, Yellowstone warrants some mention of value due to its price tag and limited availability.  No doubt, Yellowstone is pushing the limits of what it can reasonably expect consumers to pay, but considering its uniqueness and one-time batch, Yellowstone Limited Edition is priced appropriately in the market, although I recognize that many other people will pass because of the price.  There are worse “values” and better “values” out there, but at least here we have a trustworthy producer, and we have more information about the Bourbon than many other sourced brands offer.  Hopefully with Steve and Paul Beam at the helm, Limestone Branch can create a track record of excellent blends in partnership with Luxco, which will help justify the cost of future editions.

1 – Swill.  I might dump the bottle, but will probably save it for my guests who mix with Coke.

2 – Hits the minimum criteria, but given a choice, I’d rather have something else.

3 – Solid Bourbon with only minor shortcomings.  Glad to own and enjoy.

4 – Excellent Bourbon.  Need to be hyper-critical to find flaws.  I’m lucky to have this.

Beginning in January 2015, in a stroke of genius from a marketing perspective, Beam Suntory released batches of Booker’s with individual names.  I took the contrarian view and passed over the first named batch, and bought the last batch of 2014 instead, which was still on the shelves.  While others have compared and contrasted each of the named 2015 batches, for this review I’ll go “old school” with the last unnamed batch.

Last fall, I also finally found a bottle Booker’s 25^thAnniversary, so I can pick up my previous sample review with a little more in-depth contemplation.  I was gouged by a store in Tennessee, but I was glad to find the last bottle there.

Both are dark amber on the verge of brown, but the 25^thAnniversary is slightly darker, as expected because of the additional age.

The aroma of each is powerful, but not in a nose-singeing way.  Instead, the power is in the depth.  Batch 2014-07 is full of brown sugar sweetness, lots of cinnamon, and some furniture polish, while the proof is more evident.  The 25^th Anniversary hits hard with darker aromas (like oak and leather), rich vanilla, and overall less sweetness, with the high proof better-disguised.  A splash of water or an ice cube opened up the caramel sweetness.

These are bold, spicy Bourbons.  Batch 2014-07 has toffee and dark fruit sweetness, peanuts, orange zest, heavy baking spices with herbal flavors, and decent oak.  The only downside is that it’s too hot and a little yeasty hitting the back of the throat.  I liked it better with a splash of water, but water didn’t take away the slight throat irritation, which left it a little distracting.  I tried it with a single cube too; some somehow that seemed to accentuate the heat, and not do much else.

I expected the 25^th Anniversary to start very hot and to need some time in the glass first, but I knew that I would struggle to find that kind of patience.  The sample that I reviewed last spring already had some air, so it was great from the first sip, and this time, trying from a freshly opened bottle, I vacillated between diving right in and waiting.  I didn’t give it much time, but it was enough, because the 25^thAnniversary was as phenomenal as I had remembered.  It’s a classic, robust Bourbon, starting with deep brown sugar, caramel, and vanilla, balanced by plenty of cinnamon, leather, and oak.  The 25^thAnniversary has great creaminess, especially with a splash of water or a single ice cube.  It’s still worth trying neat, however, before experimenting with ice or a splash.

Batch 2014-07 had a good finish with great warmth, but it was still a little distracting in a few ways (like raw heat, yeastiness, and furniture polish).  I suspect that my scoring on the taste and finish of Batch 2014-07 suffered due to a continued comparison with the 25^th Anniversary edition.  While the taste of the 25^th Anniversary was fantastic, just as I had found with my sample last year, the finish takes it up a notch further.  The 25^th Anniversary finishes with a huge swell of cinnamon and warmth, and you can feel it shift gears, transitioning to dark oak and leather with maple sweetness.

The standard Booker’s is a top-notch barrel strength beast, and probably my favorite of the Beam Suntory lineup.  At retail from $50 – $60 and readily available – along with other barrel proof options from Maker’s Mark, Four Roses, and Heaven Hill – there’s no reason to wait for certain “antique” limited fall releases to get your barrel proof fix.  As with all smaller batches, you will find batch variation in Booker’s, and some are better than others.  All of the 2015 named batches that I’ve tried have been better than Batch 2014-07.

Additionally, the 25^thAnniversary batch shows that, with a little focus, Beam Suntory – known predominantly for its ubiquitous “white label” Jim Beam – could challenge the kings of the super-premium segment.  I’d put Booker’s 25^th Anniversary and Parker’s Heritage Collection 8^thEdition as the two best American whiskies of 2014, and both will likely be in the top 10 for the decade.  Now that we’re into 2016, you’ll have to rely on a friend to try either of those, but I hope that you’ll get the chance.  If not, try the next standard named batch of Booker’s.

Booker’s Batch 2014-07:  3.0

Booker’s 25^th Anniversary:  4.5+

1 – Swill.  I might dump the bottle, but will probably save it for my guests who mix with Coke.

2 – Hits the minimum criteria, but given a choice, I’d rather have something else.

3 – Solid Bourbon with only minor shortcomings.  Glad to own and enjoy.

4 – Excellent Bourbon.  Need to be hyper-critical to find flaws.  I’m lucky to have this.

5 – Bourbon perfection.  I’ll search high and low to get another bottle of this.