Review: Yellowstone Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2026

Release #11 from Yellowstone’s Limited Edition collection returns to Kentucky straight bourbon (unlike last year’s blend that included Indiana stock), with Port the finishing focus. This edition is a blend of two bourbons, one 7 years old and one 14 years old, finished separately in Ruby and Tawny Port casks before being married and bottled at 101 proof.

As for the label: “Inspired by the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone National Park, this year’s expression reflects the contrast between light and shadow that defines one of the park’s most iconic landscapes. The opposing elements guided Beam to finish the bourbons separately – in Ruby Port to evoke the brilliant flare of the canyon’s sunset and Tawny Port to reflect the deep shadow of the valley floor – before bringing them together into a single expression.”

Yellowstone Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon 2026 Review

Two kinds of Port cask finishing? I expected a sugar bomb from the start, but was surprised to find the nose here to be surprisingly dusky and leaning into earthier notes, extracted fruit lingering under the surface. Time in glass helps to elevate the fruit, but it remains well-tempered by notes of cloves, charred beef, and cherry pits. If anything, the underbelly evokes Tawny Port over Ruby, though both remain indistinct, perhaps overpowered by the quite old bourbon that serves as a base.

The palate tells a similar, yet slightly different story, with fruit more elevated but still short of reaching center stage. Still quite dusky on the tongue, cloves are dominant as a gingerbread character develops, the cherry notes hinted at on the nose finally blooming more fully here. The experience is dense and extracted — Port finally coming further into focus — the finish finally landing on the doughy side. Well-charred like a torched marshmallow, the whiskey goes out not with a whimper but with a bang — complete with lingering notes of gunpowder in the air.

It’s one of the best Yellowstone LE releases to date. Compare to releases from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

101 proof.

B+ / $99

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