Yellowstone American Single Malt Single Barrel

Hand selected by: Tariff-ic (super cringe) Single barrel #: SM025 Barreled: 03JUL2019 ALC/VOL: 55% Proof: 110 This was the last bottle I picked up on my most recent visit to Limestone Branch, and while I sampled it there, it was certainly the least memorable. This means it was neither fantastic nor terrible, which is an upgrade from their standard, blended American single malt offering that was harsh, far too young, and not ready for release. Seeing a single barrel, high proof American single malt whiskey is quite uncommon, and it's even better to find one on the market with so little competition. While the age is still far from ideal (there's a reason most European single malts have a minimum of 10 years), this has the potential to be good or bad, depending on the specific barrel. The color appears much deeper than usual compared to most other Yellowstone variations, not quite chocolate, but definitely beyond muscat and golden brown into something more aged. Speaking of chocolate, the aroma starts with mild cocoa and even marshmallow, but less sweet and more of a dry complement. The oak is also quite noticeable, providing notes of sweet, charred oak alongside untouched or toasted oak. There's a general raw, dusty maltiness that leads to what might be the only spirit I've encountered that smells almost exactly like the interior of a rickhouse. The taste begins with just a hint of cinnamon candy on the gums, but quickly gives way to the slightly sweet chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted malt right at the front. The spice remains and even starts to warm the mouth, but this seems to be from the ethanol rather than a flavor. As the sweetness diminishes, allowing more oak notes to emerge, a drier character takes over, though it's harder to discern as the heat strongly asserts itself with repeated sips. The finish will always be hot, but if you can get past that, you can return to appreciating the sweet oak. Although not explicitly stated, I'll assume new barrels were used for this single malt instead of the used barrels common for European counterparts; the sweet, almost sugary notes from the barrel char, typically found mainly in fresh barrels, are very prominent. This is a much better choice than the batched version, and I don't recall the price being particularly high. Frankly, with so few American single malts available, if you're going to buy one, this one, at least this barrel, is the clear winner so far.