Yellowstone Recollection Bourbon Whiskey 8 Year 110 Proof 700ml

Walk into an American saloon in 1872 and order Yellowstone Bourbon. The bartender reaches for a hand-painted glass decanter behind the bar — embossed with the Yellowstone name, featuring a painted rendering of the Lower Falls on the front — and pours you a glass of what the brand's own marketing, in an era before false advertising was legally regulated, had already declared "The Greatest American Whiskey." That decanter sat on back bars across the American West through the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, and up to Prohibition — at which point Yellowstone bourbon received a medicinal license and continued to be sold legally when virtually every other American whiskey was either shut down or going underground. It is, as a result, the second oldest continuously sold whiskey in the United States. Only Old Forester has been selling longer without interruption.

The Yellowstone Recollection is a direct material connection to that history: a bourbon whose bottle is a faithful recreation of those original back bar decanters — the ornate glass embossed with the Yellowstone name, the Lower Falls painted on the front — and whose liquid is the most serious expression of what Yellowstone has become under the stewardship of Stephen Beam, a seventh-generation member of the Beam family whose Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky has been the home of Yellowstone's modern revival. Eight years of age. 110 proof. Non-chill filtered. Not a nostalgia project — a serious bourbon in a historically resonant bottle.

The Scotchy Bourbon Boys tasted it and scored 15 out of 18 — "classic Kentucky notes of cherry, vanilla, cinnamon, oak." The official notes confirm vanilla crème brûlée and dark cherry on the nose, followed by caramel, butterscotch, and charred oak on the palate, finishing with grain, mocha, cherry, and sweet cinnamon candy. This is Yellowstone at its most historically complete — the bottle that the 1870s drinker would recognize and the liquid that the 2026 drinker deserves.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Yellowstone Bourbon was first produced in 1872 by J.B. Dant in Marion County, Kentucky — named for the newly established Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in American history, in a marketing stroke that aligned the whiskey's identity with the most dramatic and most aspirational American landscape of its era. The brand changed hands multiple times through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, surviving Prohibition through a medicinal license that allowed continued legal sale when virtually every competitor was eliminated. That Prohibition survival — and the continuous commercial sale that it enabled — makes Yellowstone the second oldest continuously sold American whiskey behind only Old Forester.

Stephen Beam is the seventh generation of the Beam family in American whiskey — one of the most storied and most specifically documented distilling lineages in the industry's history, whose ancestors include Jim Beam, Booker Noe, and the founding generation of Kentucky's distilling tradition. Stephen founded Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky with his brother Paul Beam, specifically to revive heritage brands whose histories deserved better than the obscurity into which they had descended. Yellowstone was the most important of those revivals. Limestone Branch Distillery is supported by Luxco — now operating as Ross & Squibb — whose infrastructure provides the scale and distribution that allows the Limestone Branch team's craft-focused production philosophy to reach a national audience.

The Recollection was originally introduced as a Limestone Branch Distillery exclusive — available only to visitors and local markets — before its February 2026 nationwide release brought what had been a local treasure to bourbon drinkers across the country for the first time. The liquid is an eight-year Kentucky straight bourbon — aged in new charred American white oak in Limestone Branch's warehouse program in Lebanon, Kentucky, and bottled at 110 proof without chill filtration. The non-chill filtering preserves the natural oils and aromatic compounds that contribute the full-bodied texture and the complex finish that Stephen Beam specifically designed the Recollection to deliver.

The bottle is the most specific and most historically motivated packaging in Yellowstone's current range: an ornate decanter recreation of the hand-painted back bar bottles that lined American saloons in the 1870s and 1880s, featuring the Yellowstone Lower Falls on the front and classic embossing throughout. It is simultaneously a collectible object and a functional bourbon bottle — the kind of presentation that communicates historical seriousness before the bottle is opened.

Critics Reviews

The Scotchy Bourbon Boys — 15/18: "Eight-year, 110-proof Yellowstone Recollection — classic Kentucky notes of cherry, vanilla, cinnamon, oak. A well-balanced expression that honors the brand's heritage while delivering genuine 110-proof Kentucky character."

PB Express Bourbon Review: "At eight years and 110 proof, it's more developed than entry-level bottles but still approachable compared to barrel-proof options that can hit 120+ proof. The non-chill filtered aspect means you're getting more flavor oils and texture, which fans of craft bourbon appreciate."

Yellowstone Bourbon official tasting notes: Nose: "Classic Kentucky bourbon notes of vanilla crème brûlée and dark cherry." Palate: "Caramel, butterscotch, and hints of charred oak." Finish: "Grain and mocha notes emerge, along with Yellowstone's distinctive cherry character and warm spice, including sweet cinnamon candy."

The Whiskey Wash (Stephen Beam virtual tasting): "What originally started as a distillery exclusive has evolved into a nationwide release. Yellowstone is the second oldest continuously sold whiskey in the United States behind Old Forester — you could purchase Yellowstone for medicinal purposes during Prohibition."

Yellowstone brand characterization: "An 8-year, 110-proof masterpiece that's fit for any shelf — whether it's in 2026 or 1872."

Tasting Profile

Nose Deep amber with warm copper highlights — eight years of new charred American white oak producing a color of genuine maturity and richness. The nose opens with the classic Kentucky bourbon warmth that the Yellowstone house style has been refining across 150 years of continuous production: vanilla crème brûlée leads with a slightly caramelized, slightly creamy sweetness that is both immediately welcoming and specifically distinguished from simple vanilla extract. Dark cherry follows with the vivid, slightly concentrated fruit character that is Yellowstone's most consistently praised and most specifically identified aromatic signature — present across every expression in the current range and most fully developed in the eight-year Recollection's extended maturation. A hint of charred oak adds structural depth and the slightly smoky, slightly resiny quality that properly charred Kentucky white oak contributes at this age. The 110-proof concentration amplifies every note with a warming presence that communicates the higher proof as richness rather than aggression.

Palate Bold yet balanced — Stephen Beam's own characterization of the Recollection's design target confirmed from the first sip. Caramel and butterscotch arrive together in a warm, rich wave that is the eight-year maturation's most generous and most immediately appealing contribution — thicker and more deeply integrated than the younger Yellowstone expressions deliver. The non-chill filtration's natural oils add a slightly coating, slightly viscous mouthfeel that gives the palate genuine body and presence. Charred oak builds through the mid-palate with the structural depth that prevents the caramel and butterscotch sweetness from becoming simply indulgent — dry, slightly tannic, and entirely appropriate for a bourbon of this age and proof. The 110-proof warmth spreads through the center as a building, sustained heat that is the most honest expression of the Recollection's higher-proof ambition. Yellowstone's distinctive cherry character persists from nose through palate — the most specifically brand-characteristic and most consistently praised flavor note in the entire Yellowstone range.

Finish Long, warm, and characterful. Grain and mocha emerge at the close as the most specifically Recollection-distinctive finish notes — the grain's slightly earthy, cereal quality and the mocha's roasted bitterness together adding a savory dimension that the sweeter caramel and butterscotch notes of the palate resolve into at the close. The cherry character persists alongside warm spice — sweet cinnamon candy arriving last as the most specifically Yellowstone finish signature, warm and lingering. The overall finish is more complex and more sustained than the standard 93-proof Yellowstone Select delivers — the 110-proof concentration and the non-chill filtration together producing a close of genuine length and genuine character.

Quick Overview

Serving & Occasion

Neat at room temperature or over a single large ice cube — the vanilla crème brûlée, dark cherry, and caramel character are most fully expressed without heavy dilution, and the 110-proof backbone provides enough structure to reward neat sipping with genuine warmth and complexity. A small splash of water opens the grain and mocha notes of the finish further while softening the higher proof into something particularly harmonious. Outstanding alongside aged cheddar, dark chocolate, cherry-based preparations, smoked meats, and any occasion where a bourbon with genuine historical depth and genuine 110-proof character deserves a serious glass.

Cocktail Suggestions

Yellowstone Old Fashioned (the natural home) 2 oz Yellowstone Recollection · 1 tsp Demerara syrup · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · expressed orange peel. Stirred over a large ice rock. The dark cherry, caramel, and sweet cinnamon candy character carries perfectly through the Old Fashioned format — the 110-proof backbone maintaining complete presence through ice dilution.

Yellowstone Manhattan 2 oz Yellowstone Recollection · 1 oz sweet vermouth · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · Luxardo cherry. Stirred over ice, served up. The cherry character in the bourbon echoes and amplifies the Luxardo cherry garnish — a Manhattan where the bourbon's most distinctive flavor note is reflected in every element of the glass.

Recollection Sour 2 oz Yellowstone Recollection · ¾ oz fresh lemon juice · ½ oz simple syrup · optional egg white. Shaken hard over ice, served up. The cherry and vanilla crème brûlée carry through fresh citrus in a whiskey sour of unusual fruit depth and historical character.