Yellowstone 6 Year Small Batch Bourbon 107 Proof

Although still my favorite distillery, Limestone Branch has made a few dishonorable moves lately that puts them on a bit of a watch list, so here's hoping this new permanent player isn't one more. This marks the first bottle of any Limestone Branch product that I've purchased that isn't signed by the master distiller. I really wanted to take the drive and try to get one, but I couldn't justify the 6.5+ hour trip this time, which definitely says something, considering I wouldn't have thought twice about it not too long ago. I can't find much info about this new product, but I assume it's simply the standard Yellowstone, with the only changes being increasing the age from 4 years to 6, and the proof increased from 93 to 107. With very minute changes, I'm at least glad to see this at an okay price point, and a beautiful label color scheme, as is always the case. The color combines a fairly light maple syrup with a burnished sherry. The nose is incredibly powerful as far as ethanol goes, almost too much so, but still allows some notes of mixed berries (heavy on the cherries), lemon, cinnamon candies (that classic cracked rye scent), with lesser notes of toffee, shortbread, and butterscotch as well. The initial flavor is quite fruity, with a general artificial blend of berries and citrus, like Fruity Pebbles. The burn really hits hard here, with the cinnamon and rye notes being tasted alongside it, but the aggressive ethanol is very unrefined. The finish has notes of toasted oak as opposed to a sweeter, heavier oak that I would expect from a higher age, with the fruitiness still present, and only slightly beginning to fall off. Repeat sips make it harder and harder to detect any additional or hidden flavor, as the gum and overall mouth burn seem to stack after each drink. The initial flavor of this is really quite good, but I can't forgive how aggressive and off-putting the proof here is. I've had whiskeys and whiskies in excess of 135 proof that was far more approachable than this is, so I refuse to believe it's a proof adjustment issue. Of course, I could probably add water or ice and very well correct this issue, but the distillery put their name on what's inside the bottle and nothing further, and for that, I will unfortunately be looking towards other Yellowstone products in the future.

Be ready, that first sip will get your attention! Taken neat… Some heat right up front but it mellows nicely. That second and third are much softer. A nice full flavor is certainly there as expected by Yellowstone whiskey. I added 3 drops of water and that really opened up the smell of caramel and maybe a little nutty. The flavor took on a little more smokeiness and certainly smoother. Now into about my 5th sip and i have to say i could enjoy this pour all day!

107 proof. 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley. Charred oak, cinnamon, corn, marshmallow vanilla, pepper, apples, brown sugar, honey, smoked peaches.

Cherry vanilla with sweet finsh. Slight hug