Yellowstone Bourbon
 | |
| Type | Bourbon whiskey |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Heaven Hill |
| Country of origin | Kentucky, United States |
| Alcohol by volume | 40.00% |
| Proof (US) | 80 |
| Related products | Luxco of St. Louis |
Yellowstone is a brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. It is bottled at 40.0% abv (80 proof).[1]
The Yellowstone brand is owned by Luxco of St. Louis, Missouri (formerly the David Sherman Company); which does not own a distillery. Yellowstone is distilled and aged in Kentucky by Heaven Hill Distilleries for Luxco. It is the same arrangement as that for Ezra Brooks.
The brand is sold both as a blend and as a straight bourbon.
History
Yellowstone Bourbon was started by J. B. Dant (son of J.W. Dant) who teamed up with D. H. Taylor and J. T. Williams to found the Yellowstone Distillery and bottle Yellowstone (named after the national park) bourbon sometime in the 1880s. Glenmore bought the distillery in 1944 and operated it for several decades. U.D.V. (now Diageo) bought Glenmore in the early 1990s and promptly shut it down and sold off the Ezra Brooks and Yellowstone brands to David Sherman who continued to produce both brands.[2] Later Sherman approached Heaven Hill about distilling the bourbon whiskey and aging in their Kentucky warehouses. It was then shipped to St. Louis in Oak Barrels where it was bottled and distributed. In 2006, the David Sherman Company rebranded itself to Luxco as a tribute to one of its co-founders, Paul Lux, and as a reflection of the current ownership of the company.[3]
Other notable events
In 1872, Yellowstone was the name given to an 1854 brand of Kentucky Bourbon produced by the J. B. Dant Distillery (Cold Springs Distillery, Gethsemani, Kentucky).[4]
In 1920, Yellowstone Bourbon was bottled for "medicinal purposes only" during Prohibition.[5]
In the 1960s, Yellowstone was the largest selling brand in Kentucky.[6]
In 1991, Guinness acquired Glenmore Distillery Company.[7]
In 1993, the Yellowstone Bourbon brand was sold to Heaven Hill and the distillery was sold to Florida Distillers (now part of Imperial Brands,[8] owned by Belvédère).[9] The brand was immediately re-sold to the David Sherman Company – which was later renamed as Luxco.[9] However, Luxco contracted the brand's production process to Heaven Hill.
References
- ↑ Yellowstone web site, accessed February 2011.
- ↑ Early history of Yellowstone from Straight Bourbon
- ↑ Early Luxco History
- ↑ F B Thompson, Spirit of Old Kentucky
- ↑ Kentucky Beverage Journal, Nov 1956
- ↑ UD Archives, 992.m.167
- ↑ C Morris, Glenmore, 15/11/91
- ↑ Imperial Brands, Inc. Announces National Launch Plans for 4 Orange Premium Vodka
- 1 2 "Yellowstone Brand timeline". August 11, 2005. Retrieved December 12, 2012.