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About this episode
Steve Beam of Limestone Branch joins Bourbon Lens to pour and break down the brand-new 2026 Yellowstone 101, a limited edition blend of 14 and 8 year old Kentucky straight bourbon double finished in Ruby and Tawny port casks.
Steve shares how he builds these limited releases from scratch: sourcing barrels through brokers, buying the port at the liquor store to test flavor pairings, blending in graduated cylinders, and why he "makes bourbon that I like to drink." Jake and Steve trade tasting notes (blackberry, cocoa nibs, charred oak, dark fig, and a peanut butter and jelly finish), and Steve explains why Limestone Branch is narrowing its focus to core products in 2026 and beyond.
Also in this episode:
🥃 The hand-painted Recollection Series, recreated from a late-1800s porcelain barback bottle found on eBay
🇺🇸 The US 250th Lady Liberty release: hand-picked single barrels in a throwback cylinder tube
📜 154 years of Yellowstone, sold continuously even through Prohibition ⏱️ Why a single LTO takes 18 months to 2 years from first idea to bottle 🥃 How Steve drinks whiskey: neat, wide-nosing glass, never on ice
Whether you're a longtime Yellowstone fan, a port-finish curious sipper, or planning a stop at the distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky, this conversation is a great look at the craft behind one of bourbon's oldest brand names.
Timestamps:
- 0:00 Welcome and Limestone Branch's 2026 focus
- 3:47 154 years of Yellowstone 5:15 The hand-painted Recollection Series 8:43 The US 250th Lady Liberty bottle
- 11:30 Yellowstone 101: how the limited editions are made
- 17:38 Tasting notes: nose, palate, finish
- 25:06 Blending vs. finishing: how this one was built
- 32:53 How long an LTO takes
- 34:24 What's next for Limestone Branch
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#YellowstoneBourbon #Yellowstone101 #LimestoneBranch #SteveBeam #BourbonLens #BourbonReview #PortFinish #KentuckyBourbon #BourbonPodcast #WhiskeyPodcast #LimitedEditionBourbon #BourbonTasting
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