BOTM 9/11: Yellowstone

[fishnbowljoe]

Yellowstone was the first bourbon I ever tasted. It's funny, but at the time, I didn't know even what bourbon was. When I was a teenager, some friends and I had an older buddy who was kind enough to help us out when we needed a bottle of something to take camping, or when we went to the drive in movies, etc.... He always bought Yellowstone. Yellowstone was also the first "legal" bottle of booze I ever bought. I remember it like it was yesterday. Daytona Beach Florida, spring break 1974. Where have the years gone?

My two cents this month. Well, maybe a nickel. I've had two bottles of Yellowstone, plus I've tasted a bottle or two at the KBF. When I first got into bourbon, I had to get a bottle of Yellowstone just for old time's sake. I wanted to see if what I had been drinking as a teenager was good stuff. That bottle four years ago wasn't anything to write home about IMHO. It was 80 proof and pretty light. Too light. Not a lot of flavors going on. Just a mild corn/alcohol taste, and not really much of a finish at all. The second bottle of Yellowstone I had...... well, now that's an entirely different story. I was given an 86 proof bottle of Yellowstone from 1979 by one of our waitresses from Hooters. Her and her boyfriend had bought a house, and found a couple of bottles of liquor in a basement cabinet. Wow! The nose was like smelling a bag of butterscotch candies. The taste was fantastic. Thick and viscous. A creamy, vanilla and caramel flavor that just opened up as it hit mid palate. The finish was also great. It just stayed with you, leaving you wanting for more. Fantastic! I brought most of that bottle to share at the KBF/gazebo a couple of years ago. It didn't come home with me. A testament perhaps to just how good it was.

Let's hear it for Yellowstone. New, Dusty, KSBW, Mellow Mash, whatever variation you've had and feel like sharing your thoughts on.

Cheers to one and all. Joe

[mosugoji64]

Had a sample of the current 86-proof bottling recently. It wasn't bad, but way too sweet for me. It was like liquid candy corn. It would probably make a good mixer, but I don't think I would run out and buy a bottle. The dusty varieties sound great, especially the BIB, so I wouldn't mind trying those.

[PaulO]

It would be interesting to know when the brand changed to the modern stuff. My own experience is that it had to be at least before the mid '90s. I bought the 86 proof Yellowstone fairly often when I was starting to get interested in bourbon. I don't know if it's wheated, but it reminds me of Rebel Yell; light colored, and not very complicated. It's not bad if you consider it sells for around $10. Some states like KY, and TN also get a 90 proof version. I guess I haven't bought any in a while because the few stores I know that carry Yellowstone are well stocked with other items.

[tmckenzie]

Onlu had it one time, and was glad to have it then. My wife and i were on a visit to Nashville Tn, in 2001. As luck would have it, I had a kidney stone. I was 6 hours from my dr in south Alabama, so I got my wife to stop me by a liquor store and I got a bottle of it. Because I had never had it. Anyway, the bottle eased the pain enough to get home. And, it was not too bad a bourbon either.

[Enoch]

The only bottle I have ever seen (which I bought) was a 1983 1.75 bottle of Yellowstone Mellow Mash, 7 year, 91 proof which I find wonderful but only allow myself an occasional drink because I want it to last for awhile. It is a very dark sweet heavy bourbon. I would love to try the newer stuff to compare but don't think it is sold in SC.

PS. tried to post a picture but there is no attachment tab in this thread like there is in the General Discussion.

[silverfish]

PS. tried to post a picture but there is no attachment tab in this thread like there is in the General Discussion.

You can still use the "Insert Image" button - when you hit reply,
it's the fifth from the right (little square "mountain" button) - but
a URL is needed for posting images that way.

[RickF]

It would be interesting to know when the brand changed to the modern stuff. My own experience is that it had to be at least before the mid '90s. I bought the 86 proof Yellowstone fairly often when I was starting to get interested in bourbon. I don't know if it's wheated, but it reminds me of Rebel Yell; light colored, and not very complicated. It's not bad if you consider it sells for around $10. Some states like KY, and TN also get a 90 proof version. I guess I haven't bought any in a while because the few stores I know that carry Yellowstone are well stocked with other items.

I do not know for sure, but I expect the product changed sometime between 1991, when Guinness bought Glenmore Distillery and 1993 when United Distillers divested the brand.

Yellowstone is now owned by Luxco, so the relationship to Rebel Yell is not far fetched. I know that Rebel Yell is wheated, but I am not sure about Yellowstone (or anything else that comes from Luxco).

I have not had Yellowstone since I left Kentucky more than 30 years ago, but I still remember the billboard that used to be on the Watterson Expressway in Louisville with the big bottle of Yellowstone and the tag line "That's right, no bite!"