When a bourbon brand carries the name of the country's first national park and traces its bloodline back to the families that helped build Kentucky's distilling tradition, a milestone like America's 250th birthday isn't something you let pass quietly. Yellowstone Bourbon clearly got that memo, because the brand just rolled out one of the more ambitious and symbolism-heavy limited releases to hit the whiskey world in recent memory.
The 2026 Yellowstone Hand Picked Single Barrel program is, at its core, a barrel pick offering. Retailers and on-premise accounts get to select their own barrel, have it bottled, and put it on shelves for customers. That part isn't new in the bourbon industry. What sets this particular program apart is how deeply the brand leaned into the occasion — the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — and threaded that theme through every layer of the product, from what's inside the glass to what's wrapped around the outside of the bottle.
Image credit: Yellowstone
Only 250 barrels will be made available through the entire program. That number wasn't pulled from thin air. It directly corresponds to the 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, formally establishing the United States. For collectors and history buffs who also happen to enjoy good bourbon, that kind of deliberate limitation adds weight to every bottle that comes out of the program.
Each of those 250 barrels has been aged for seven years. That seven-year age statement carries its own nod to American history — it represents the seven Founding Fathers most credited with establishing the nation. And the proof? It's bottled at 100 proof, which works out to 50% alcohol by volume, a direct reference to the 50 states. None of these details feel accidental. The brand clearly spent time making sure every number on the label told part of a larger story.
The Bottled-in-Bond designation is another significant detail worth unpacking for anyone who pays attention to what's printed on their whiskey labels. Bottled-in-Bond is a standard that dates back to the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, one of the earliest consumer protection laws in the country. To earn that designation, a bourbon has to be the product of one distillation season, made by one distiller at one distillery, aged in a federally bonded warehouse for at least four years, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. It's a mark of authenticity and quality that serious bourbon drinkers have long respected. Yellowstone hitting both the seven-year age mark and the Bottled-in-Bond standard on this release sends a clear signal about what they think of this program.
The packaging goes all in on the patriotic theme. Each 750mL bottle arrives inside a specially designed corrugated bottle tube decorated with Americana-inspired graphics. Tucked inside that tube is a fully wrapped replica of the Declaration of Independence — a nice touch that turns the packaging into something a person might actually want to hold onto after the bourbon is gone. The label on each bottle features the seven-year age statement, the Bottled-in-Bond call-out, and patriotic artwork commemorating a quarter millennium of American independence.
Accounts that secure a barrel through the program will also receive a displayable barrel with a Yellowstone-branded placard showing their unique barrel number. For a bar, restaurant, or retail shop, that kind of display piece has real value. It tells customers walking through the door that the establishment hand-selected what's being poured or sold, and it ties the whole experience back to a specific, numbered barrel out of only 250.
Bottles are expected to land on shelves by early summer 2026, carrying a minimum suggested retail price of $69.99. For a seven-year-old, single barrel, Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky bourbon with that level of packaging and limited availability, that price point sits in a range that should attract both everyday bourbon drinkers and collectors looking to grab something with real shelf appeal.
Stephen Beam, the brand's Master Distiller, didn't hold back his enthusiasm when talking about the release. "We wanted to offer something really special to our customers with our 2026 Yellowstone Hand Picked Single Barrel program while paying tribute to our founding fathers who established our nation 250 years ago," Beam said. "We're proud to have deep roots in America's bourbon history and heritage in Kentucky as the only brand named for the first national park. Our selections for this year's tribute barrel program have so much to offer from the 7-year age statement to the Bottled-in-Bond designation, the stand-out patriotic packaging and more. We can't wait for accounts and customers to enjoy everything about this release."
Beam isn't just talking when he mentions deep roots. His personal connection to bourbon history runs generations deep. He's a seventh-generation Master Distiller and a direct descendant of both the Dant and Beam families — two surnames that are practically carved into the bedrock of Kentucky distilling. His ancestor, Joseph Bernard Dant, originally founded the Yellowstone brand and named it after the world's first national park back in 1872. That means the Yellowstone name has been connected to American whiskey for over 150 years.
The brand went through a period where it faded from the spotlight, as many heritage bourbon labels did over the decades. But in 2011, Stephen Beam brought it back to life when he founded Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky, and resurrected the Yellowstone name with the launch of Yellowstone Select Bourbon. Since then, the brand has steadily rebuilt its reputation and started racking up industry recognition.
That recognition has been piling up in recent years. Yellowstone earned a spot on Whisky Advocate's Top 20 Whiskies of the Year list in 2025 — a distinction that carries serious credibility in the whiskey community. The brand also picked up a Double Platinum award at the 2025 ASCOT Awards and pulled in multiple Gold medals at both the 2025 SIP Awards and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Those aren't participation trophies. Competitions like the San Francisco World Spirits Competition draw entries from around the globe, and consistent gold-medal performances across multiple contests suggest a distillery that's hitting its stride.
Beyond the bourbon itself, Yellowstone has built a track record of putting money behind conservation causes that connect back to its national park namesake. Since 2018, the brand has partnered with the National Parks Conservation Association, and that partnership has resulted in over one million dollars donated to help preserve national parks across the country. In 2026, Yellowstone Bourbon and its new Yellowstone Ready-to-Serve Cocktails line are also backing the Vital Ground Foundation, an organization focused on preserving and protecting threatened grizzly bear habitat. For a brand named after the park where grizzlies roam, that's a partnership that makes natural sense.
Limestone Branch Distillery, where Yellowstone is produced, operates under the umbrella of Luxco, which itself functions as the Branded Spirits division of MGP Ingredients Inc. (traded on Nasdaq under MGPI). MGP acquired Luxco in 2021, and the combined portfolio is stacked. Beyond Yellowstone, the family of brands includes Rebel, Ezra Brooks, and Blood Oath bourbons out of Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, Kentucky, plus Penelope and Remus bourbon from Ross & Squibb Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. There's also a tequila operation down in Arandas, Mexico, producing 100% agave brands like El Mayor and Exotico. Luxco itself dates back to 1958, when the Lux family founded it in St. Louis. That's a lot of institutional knowledge and distilling infrastructure backing up what Yellowstone is doing.
Retailers and bars interested in getting their hands on one of the 250 barrels can fill out a barrel request form through Yellowstone Bourbon's website. Given the limited number and the significance of the occasion, those barrels are unlikely to sit unclaimed for long.
The bourbon landscape in 2026 is crowded, competitive, and loaded with limited editions chasing collector dollars. What Yellowstone has done with this particular program is tie a quality liquid — seven years old, single barrel, Bottled-in-Bond — to a moment in time that resonates on a level most releases can't touch. The 250th anniversary of the nation's founding is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and wrapping a Kentucky bourbon around that story with the level of detail Yellowstone put into this feels like the kind of thing that ages well, both in the barrel and on the shelf.
Accounts and consumers looking for more information can visit YellowstoneBourbon.com.
