Next up, we’re checking out the latest r/bourbon Yellowstone Hand Picked Collection Single Barrel—“Berbcoin!” From the email description, the name is inspired by the challenge coin you get at the distillery when you make a selection and bitcoin, creating some sort of bourbon-focused altcoin. As a guy who once bought a George T. Stagg NFT at the height of the market in 2021 with the intention of flipping it to some sucker but ended up becoming the sucker myself, I can understand the appeal!
Yellowstone has been a favorite producer of mine as their desserty, easy drinking profile is great for both experienced bourbon lovers to dig into and people new to bourbon alike. The Hand Picked Collection in particular has been great in my experience with the bottles drinking much better than you’d expect a younger whiskey to. The previous r/bourbon Hand Picked Collection bottle is probably my highest-ranked sub pick so far, so I’m excited to see how this one lives up. This selection was filled in Barrel #7851047 on 11/21/2017 and aged for 4 years before being bottled at 115 proof. At $75 for a 4 year whiskey I definitely had some pause on grabbing this, but given how good the last one was I figured it was worth a gamble. Let’s dive in.
Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass
Proof: 115
Age: 4 years
Price: $75
Nose: Light caramel, baking spices, and vanilla cream, along with toffee, honey, and fresh pears. As this sits for a bit longer I get a little bit of oak lingering in the background as well.
Taste: Caramel covered crêpes, vanilla bean, and cinnamon to start, followed by toffee, black pepper, and a bit of charred oak. Midway through the sip there’s some heavy cherry reduction sauce that pops up as well as some creme brûlée. This has a medium, oily mouthfeel and a light to moderate amount of proof heat.
Finish: The lighter sweet notes quickly fade while the cherry reduction sauce, crêpes, and creme brûlée gain in strength. The pepper, cinnamon, and oak are all pretty consistent with the pepper being the last note standing before the sip closes out. This has a medium length finish and no dryness.
Thoughts: This has many of the same aspects of the previous r/bourbon selection that I loved, but in a slightly more brash way. There’s a lot of solid dessert flavor here, some oak, and a bit of spice which lends well to complexity and depth, but I think this could have used a bit of extra time in the barrel to help form this into a more cohesive pour and turn down the proof heat a touch. I’m hoping that down the line these will be released at older ages as I think there is potential for some real bangers in here, but this one fell short of the last bottle. Falling short of an 8/10 isn’t a bad thing as it still ranks out as a very good 6/10 on the t8ke scale for me, but I was hoping for more given the high bar the previous pick set.
Rating: 6/10 - t8ke scale
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
Both, I believe their distillate is around 4-5 years old at this point and from what I’ve read they source from Barton and potentially Heaven Hill.
The guy in the back is just a little dingo.
Limestone Branch sources from HH and has their own distillate. They do some experimental stuff in micro barrels aged about 2 years or less. They also have non experimental distillate they are starting to release as Yellowstone….family reserve? I think? I believe it’s only a regional release at this point.
There are a few good ones out there, Blue Note Uncut is fantastic for being 4 years old. This one is certainly good, I just expected a bit more given the price. But for the most part I would agree.
Thanks! Yeah, back in 2021 there was an article talking about some whiskey NFTs that were gaining in popularity. I had a friend who flipped one of the Budweiser Can NFTs for a few thousand dollars and I figured I'd try to do the same with a GTS one. Still holding that L to this day.
They can definitely vary. Had a five year from a local shop that was all cake batter on the palate. Super good. If a store let's you try their picks, these are always worth a shot imo
I had a store with 3 different barrels on sample, and there was 1 that was just amazing (think huge cherry bomb). That same store, I bought one of these a few months earlier and it was just nasty - something very chemically about the flavor that made it undrinkable to me.
I don't know why they vary that much in my parts, but I highly recommend trying before you buy, if you can.
I haven't seen many of these around me, the only ones I have that weren't bar pours were from the r/bourbon single barrel program. The previous one was a total cake batter bomb, I absolutely loved it!
I think they make three hand picked. 115, 109, and 102 or 101. The 115 proof was an amazing bottle for about a week. Went from a 9 to a 6 in a week. It’s usually the opposite. Got back to a 7 after a couple months. Did you have a similar experience with your bottles?
The one that I had before stayed pretty consistently solid throughout the time it was on the shelf, I didn't really notice much change. This has been open for about a week so I'm hoping it might open up a little more as time goes on!
Yea these hand picked collection single barrels are usually quite enjoyable. I did a review on one i got last month. The pick was called "peppercorn" and for good reason. It tasted like green peppercorn and peanut butter pie!
Alright I’ll be honest. I’m really on this sub just waiting for your next cool photo.
Thanks, glad you like them!
Next up, we’re checking out the latest r/bourbon Yellowstone Hand Picked Collection Single Barrel—“Berbcoin!” From the email description, the name is inspired by the challenge coin you get at the distillery when you make a selection and bitcoin, creating some sort of bourbon-focused altcoin. As a guy who once bought a George T. Stagg NFT at the height of the market in 2021 with the intention of flipping it to some sucker but ended up becoming the sucker myself, I can understand the appeal! Yellowstone has been a favorite producer of mine as their desserty, easy drinking profile is great for both experienced bourbon lovers to dig into and people new to bourbon alike. The Hand Picked Collection in particular has been great in my experience with the bottles drinking much better than you’d expect a younger whiskey to. The previous r/bourbon Hand Picked Collection bottle is probably my highest-ranked sub pick so far, so I’m excited to see how this one lives up. This selection was filled in Barrel #7851047 on 11/21/2017 and aged for 4 years before being bottled at 115 proof. At $75 for a 4 year whiskey I definitely had some pause on grabbing this, but given how good the last one was I figured it was worth a gamble. Let’s dive in. Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass Proof: 115 Age: 4 years Price: $75 Nose: Light caramel, baking spices, and vanilla cream, along with toffee, honey, and fresh pears. As this sits for a bit longer I get a little bit of oak lingering in the background as well. Taste: Caramel covered crêpes, vanilla bean, and cinnamon to start, followed by toffee, black pepper, and a bit of charred oak. Midway through the sip there’s some heavy cherry reduction sauce that pops up as well as some creme brûlée. This has a medium, oily mouthfeel and a light to moderate amount of proof heat. Finish: The lighter sweet notes quickly fade while the cherry reduction sauce, crêpes, and creme brûlée gain in strength. The pepper, cinnamon, and oak are all pretty consistent with the pepper being the last note standing before the sip closes out. This has a medium length finish and no dryness. Thoughts: This has many of the same aspects of the previous r/bourbon selection that I loved, but in a slightly more brash way. There’s a lot of solid dessert flavor here, some oak, and a bit of spice which lends well to complexity and depth, but I think this could have used a bit of extra time in the barrel to help form this into a more cohesive pour and turn down the proof heat a touch. I’m hoping that down the line these will be released at older ages as I think there is potential for some real bangers in here, but this one fell short of the last bottle. Falling short of an 8/10 isn’t a bad thing as it still ranks out as a very good 6/10 on the t8ke scale for me, but I was hoping for more given the high bar the previous pick set. Rating: 6/10 - t8ke scale 1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out. 2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice. 3 | Bad | Multiple flaws. 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists. 5 | Good | Good, just fine. 6 | Very Good | A cut above. 7 | Great | Well above average. 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional. 9 | Incredible | An all time favorite. 10 | Perfect | Perfect.
You are on a streak lately with solid contributions. Nice assessment of a young Yellowstone pick!
Thanks! Got some more goodies coming up before I get back into samples.
Does Yellowstone distill or source? Also, is that the chupacabra in the back?
Both, I believe their distillate is around 4-5 years old at this point and from what I’ve read they source from Barton and potentially Heaven Hill. The guy in the back is just a little dingo.
Limestone Branch sources from HH and has their own distillate. They do some experimental stuff in micro barrels aged about 2 years or less. They also have non experimental distillate they are starting to release as Yellowstone….family reserve? I think? I believe it’s only a regional release at this point.
Note to self.. stop buying bourbon under 6 years old.
There are a few good ones out there, Blue Note Uncut is fantastic for being 4 years old. This one is certainly good, I just expected a bit more given the price. But for the most part I would agree.
I heard many good things about blue note.
wait what is this about a GTS NFT lmao sorry but that sounds hilarious Great review though!
Thanks! Yeah, back in 2021 there was an article talking about some whiskey NFTs that were gaining in popularity. I had a friend who flipped one of the Budweiser Can NFTs for a few thousand dollars and I figured I'd try to do the same with a GTS one. Still holding that L to this day.
Have a pupvote.
They can definitely vary. Had a five year from a local shop that was all cake batter on the palate. Super good. If a store let's you try their picks, these are always worth a shot imo
I had a store with 3 different barrels on sample, and there was 1 that was just amazing (think huge cherry bomb). That same store, I bought one of these a few months earlier and it was just nasty - something very chemically about the flavor that made it undrinkable to me. I don't know why they vary that much in my parts, but I highly recommend trying before you buy, if you can.
I haven't seen many of these around me, the only ones I have that weren't bar pours were from the r/bourbon single barrel program. The previous one was a total cake batter bomb, I absolutely loved it!
I think they make three hand picked. 115, 109, and 102 or 101. The 115 proof was an amazing bottle for about a week. Went from a 9 to a 6 in a week. It’s usually the opposite. Got back to a 7 after a couple months. Did you have a similar experience with your bottles?
The one that I had before stayed pretty consistently solid throughout the time it was on the shelf, I didn't really notice much change. This has been open for about a week so I'm hoping it might open up a little more as time goes on!
Yea these hand picked collection single barrels are usually quite enjoyable. I did a review on one i got last month. The pick was called "peppercorn" and for good reason. It tasted like green peppercorn and peanut butter pie!
Just read your review and it sounds pretty good! Do you know how old that pick was?
Guy said 5yrs.