Yellowstone Hand Picked Collection Single Barrel Bourbon

Hand selected by/barrel name: Blake's Juice Single barrel number: 8036 Barreled date: 27JUL2018 Proof: 102 I skipped ahead to the Hand Picked bottles I got just to stack them up next to my other ones on the shelf. While I was at the distillery recently, I tried a huge flight of some past Hand Picked bottles, and while this was on said flight, my palate was shot to hell after something like a dozen plus samples while I was there. So, I picked up both the available Hand Picked bottles at the gift shop so I could try them again here. Having just had a single barrel of the Select 93, I had wondered what the difference was between that and the Hand Picked Collection. Having bought a few of the Hand Picked bottles already, I would guess that it's the same mash bill of the Select 93, just presented at cask strength. With a lower 102 proof and just shy of 5 years aged, I'm guessing this will both showcase fresh grain from the mash while not being too light or raw to be distracting or overpowering. The color is a little light, yet still a tad darker than the Select 93. Cinnamon, fresh rye, toffee, and caramel sauce on the nose paint a fairly classic bourbon picture, but the sweetness really dominates. The small amount of rye in the mash balances the nose well, though, while the ethanol reinforces the spiciness but remains approachable. The initial flavor has a medium heat, with notes of a sour earthiness and burnt toffee. The rye begins to penetrate and fuel the burn through the gums, with the earthiness still present but with notes of unwashed, unshucked corn still on the ear. The finish is incredibly hot, with a combination of cracked black pepper, grass, and cinnamon from the rye, while the body turns slightly dry. After repeated sips, a hint of spearmint appears around the finish. A simple iteration of a classic bourbon mash turns into an end product that simply isn't that good, to my own palate. The earthiness seems out of place here, and is even more off-putting with the strong burn throughout. Even with this upset, it almost increases my love for the single barrel concept, because you can't win them all, and barrels like this mean that there will be good ones on the horizon. Here's to the pick anyway though, Blake, despite your abhorrent use of the world "juice."

Single barrel number 1541 Aged 4 years Exclusively selected by "Ciao Chows!" on 04AUG2022 One of the many bottles that I picked up recently in a lovely (and expensive) birthday trek through my favorite distilleries, Limestone Branch made for half a dozen of those pick-ups, with no regrets at all. Starting from the lowest proof, this single barrel of the classic Select 93 bourbon was selected by one of the distillery's dogs, or more accurately, the handler of said dog. Ciao, I believe, was the pup named after this barrel, and was alongside a cat's barrel pick at the gift shop. If I remember correctly, the pet barrel picks cycle monthly, or perhaps quarterly. As fun of an idea as this was, it's been quite some time since I've ever seen a single barrel of the original Select 93, let alone owned one, but I blame Ohio for that. A very light color compared to other Select 93 bottles I've had, and even lighter in the glass than the bottle. A powerful nose of malted rye and more ethanol than expected are found alongside young corn, but not as raw and unrefined as younger ages would be. Repeated smelling brings up both chocolate and cherry, with just a hint of a floral finish. The initial taste is light and floral, but soon explodes into chocolate syrup, but the classic Hershey's over a smaller company's gourmet sauce. After a few more sips, the rye spice is tasted but just barely sinks into the gum line. The corn also comes around, and although it still tastes fairly young, it's starting to finally mellow out and round off the edges; another 18 months or so would really shoot this to an amazing level. A little more floral flavor surfaces around the finish, where the chocolate flavor from before starts to fall off. The finish itself becomes more and more young and predictable as far as craft bourbons go, but the rye spice does continue to build and a salted peanut note fades in and out. At the end of the day, there's no way I was going to hate this, but as far as single barrel picks go, this is slightly more complex with different flavor profiles than you would get from the batched Select 93, and would be worth, say, $10 more than the original, but probably no more than that. As I blacked out when I purchased everything at the gift shop, I do not remember how much this costs, but do think it's worth having as both a replacement to the batched version, as well as alongside said version for minor comparisons. Still, for a dog, I think this was a paws-itively good pick.

Cinnamon, caramel, viscous, creamed corn

The party source barrel. #7849865. Barreled 11/20/17 Smells if vanilla cream and caramel. Flavor is rich with vanilla, oak, and a lovely slice character in the finish. Wonderful balance between the oak and the spirit. This is a winner.