What Happens on a Limestone Branch Distillery Tour

Discover the History of Limestone Branch  

Limestone Branch is the home of Yellowstone Bourbon, Minor Case Rye Whiskey, and Bowling & Burch Gin. Over the course of a distillery tour, you’ll learn how all three of these spirits came together over our brand’s history to form the Limestone Branch you see today. 

It all started with founder and master Distiller Stephen Beam’s great-great uncle, Jacob Beam, who sold his first barrels of corn whiskey in 1795. From there, our history stretches across centuries, coinciding with some of the country’s most important moments and finally arriving here at our Lebanon, Kentucky, location that opened in 2011.   

  

Learn How We Distill Our Spirits 

Following in the historic footsteps of his predecessors, Stephen Beam still sits at the helm of the distillery as our Master Distiller, and during the distilling portion of a Limestone Branch tour, you’ll learn about how his work impacts the end product you see in your favorite spirits stores today.  

For our Yellowstone Bourbon, we use open-pollinated white heirloom corn, with a grain bill ratio of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley. We open-cook our mixture at more than 200 degrees before lowering the temperature and adding a yeast strain originally used by Stephen’s great-grandfather and grandfather. 

After a few more crucial steps, the resulting whiskey is added to newly charred oak barrels for aging — and, during a tour, you’ll follow this process step-by-step and learn why every decision along the way is so crucial to delivering the product our fans know and love. 

 

Taste the Result for Yourself   

Of course, as any bourbon aficionado will tell you, it’s one thing to learn about the bourbon distilling process. It’s another to taste the end result of all that hard work. 

Luckily, this is exactly what you can do during our tour. The Yellowstone Select Tour includes an educational tasting of Yellowstone bourbons, both past and present labels, and you even get to take your tasting glass home with you. 

(Psst —  Just want the tasting and not the full tour? You can get that, too! While our full tour is approximately an hour long, you can book a shorter, 30-minute educational tasting instead, which allows you to not only taste our Yellowstone bourbons but also our rye and gin.) 

   

Pick up a Few Souvenirs Before You Go 

After the tour and tasting are completed, there’s no reason to rush off. Stick around for a while and explore the distillery’s gift shop and our cocktail lounge. You can pick up some extra Limestone Branch merchandise and a few more bottles of whiskey. Or try a cocktail in Minor’s Lounge to inspire your mixology efforts at home. The lounge also serves bourbon flights and whiskeys neat every day of the week. 

  

What are You Waiting For?  

If all the above sounds like your perfect way to spend a day, don’t wait to book your tour now! 

There are two tour options: the Yellowstone Select Experience, which focuses on our whiskey process and products, and the Limestone Branch Distillery Tour, which takes a broader look at our full line of products. Both tours are an hour long, though ticket prices do vary. Tours are offered daily, starting at the top of the hour, 10 am through 5 pm, Monday through Saturday, and 11 am through 5 pm on Sunday. 

As mentioned, you can also book an educational tasting only if you’re short on time. 

 

Tickets can be reserved online as far as 90 days in advance. Plan to walk for about half an hour for any tour and dress accordingly, with closed-toe shoes.  

We can’t wait to welcome you to Limestone Branch!