Hand selected by (barrel name): Tariff-ic (super cringe) Single barrel #: SM025 Barreled: 03JUL2019 ALC/VOL: 55% Proof: 110 My last pickup from my most recent trip to Limestone Branch, and although I tried it while I was there, it was easily the least memorable. This does mean that it was neither incredibly good or incredibly bad, which is an improvement on the standard, blended American single malt product that they offer, which was aggressive, far too young, and overall not ready for shelves yet. As rare as American single malt whiskeys are, it's even nicer to see a single barrel, high proof variant on the market, with very little competition to it. Although the age is still not even close to where it needs to be (there's a reason most European single malts have a bare minimum of 10 years), this has potential for being better or worse, depending on which barrel you end up with. The color here seems much darker than normal as compared to most other Yellowstone variants, not quite in the chocolate range, but definitely past muscat and golden brown into something more mature. Speaking of chocolate, the nose begins with soft cocoa and even marshmallow, but less sweet and more of a dry body complimenting it. The oak is also very prominent, simultaneously giving notes of sweet, charred oak as well as untouched or toasted oak. There is an overall dusty and raw maltiness that leads to what may be the only whiskey I've ever had that smells almost exactly like the inside of a rickhouse. The flavor begins with just a touch of cinnamon candy across the gums, but makes way quickly for the slightly sweet chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted malt right at the forefront. The spice lingers and even begins to heat up the mouth, but this seems to be more of the ethanol as opposed to a flavor. As the sweetness fades to let more of the oak notes in, a drier body takes over, although is harder to dissect, as the heat really pushes hard with repeat sips. The finish is always going to be hot, but if you get past that, you can return to focusing on the sweet oak. Although not explicitly stated, I am going to guess and say that new barrels are used for this single malt as opposed to used barrels that our European counterparts are privy to using; there is such a large presence and focus on the sweet, almost sugary notes from the barrel char that is usually found primarily on fresh barrels. This is a much better option as compared to the batched version, and I don't remember the price tag being considerable at the top end. Honestly, with such little American single malts to choose from at all, if you were going to own any, this one, at least this barrel, is the clear winner thus far.