Limestone Branch Distillery sits on Veterans Memorial Highway in Lebanon, Kentucky, founded in 2010 by brothers Steve and Paul Beam—yes, those Beams, carrying on seven generations of whiskey-making legacy. Steve spent decades working for major distilleries before deciding to revive the family’s original Yellowstone bourbon brand, which their great-great-grandfather J.B. Beam created in 1872 but had been dormant for decades. The operation runs out of a purpose-built 18,000-square-foot facility that houses everything from fermentation through bottling, with copper pot stills and traditional column stills handling production of bourbon, rye, and moonshine.
The Beam brothers didn’t just want to trade on their famous name—they spent years researching the original Yellowstone recipes and working to recreate authentic flavor profiles from over a century ago. Steve serves as master distiller while Paul handles operations, and they’ve built the distillery specifically for visitors with large windows into production areas and a dedicated tasting room. Their approach combines old-school Kentucky bourbon traditions with modern precision, using locally-sourced grains when possible and aging in traditional charred oak barrels in their on-site rickhouses.
Visitors get to see active bourbon production in a working distillery that’s designed for transparency—you can watch mashing, fermentation, distillation, and bottling when production is running. The tasting room showcases their full lineup including the revived Yellowstone bourbon, Minor Case rye whiskey, and various moonshine expressions. What makes this place special is the combination of serious bourbon heritage with a welcoming, educational atmosphere where the Beam family legacy comes alive through stories and genuine Kentucky hospitality.
