What Whiskey Do They Drink On Yellowstone? The Complete Guide to the Dutton Family’s Spirits Updated 03/2026

If you’ve ever settled into your couch for a Yellowstone marathon and found yourself pausing just to squint at the bottle in John Dutton’s hand, you’re not alone. The show has become one of the most culturally loaded pieces of television in recent American history, and the whiskey choices of the Dutton family are no small part of that story. From the rugged ranch hands cracking cold ones in the bunkhouse to Beth Dutton dramatically producing a bottle from her purse, the spirits on screen are as deliberate and layered as the plot itself. This isn’t just product placement trivia. It’s a full portrait of American whiskey culture, character identity, and the marketing power of premium bourbon.

Let’s break it all down, season by season, character by character, and brand by brand.

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Why Whiskey Is the Soul of Yellowstone

Before diving into specific bottles, it’s worth pausing to appreciate why whiskey occupies such a central role in the show. Creator Taylor Sheridan didn’t accidentally reach for bourbon every time a character needed to process grief, celebrate power, or stare into the middle distance.

In Yellowstone, whiskey is portrayed as the only true drink of choice and the go-to tool when the going gets tough. During countless moments when something goes wrong for Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, or when bad news arrives, the patriarch reaches for whiskey as a salve, as a way to cope. It’s not casual drinking. It’s ritual. It’s armor.

Beer, meanwhile, is the drink of the Yellowstone Ranch’s cowboys, the good old boys and girls who do the dirty and glamorous work of “cowboying” with their sturdy horses, chaps, hats, and tough demeanors. The cowboys work hard, play hard, and when it’s all done, they drink beer in the bunkhouse.

This two-tier drink culture mirrors the show’s own class structure. The Duttons drink whiskey because they carry the weight of legacy, land, and loss. The ranch hands drink beer because they’ve earned a cold one, plain and simple.

Whiskey symbolizes strength, tradition, and the American spirit in Yellowstone. The Dutton family’s preference for bourbon aligns with their image as quintessential American ranchers. Whiskey drinking scenes often accompany important conversations or moments of reflection, with the amber liquid serving as a visual metaphor for the show’s themes.

Season-by-Season Breakdown: Which Whiskey and When

Seasons 1 Through 4: The Bulleit Era

In the earlier seasons of the show, a mostly disguised Bulleit Bourbon was the Dutton patriarch’s spirit of choice. This wasn’t accidental. The choice was the result of a deliberate commercial partnership.

Mediaplacement Entertainment, Inc. orchestrated a series of impactful product placements within the acclaimed Paramount series Yellowstone, starring the legendary Kevin Costner, which soared to unprecedented heights as the most-watched television show of 2022. Across four gripping seasons, the nuanced dynamics between father and ranch owner John, portrayed by Costner himself, and his steadfast daughter and second-in-command, Beth, brought to life by the incomparable Kelly Reilly, are punctuated by the presence of Bulleit Bourbon.

Bulleit Bourbon’s rustic and authentic image aligns with the rugged and Western setting of Yellowstone. The show’s focus on the Dutton family’s ranching business and the challenges they face complements the bold and robust nature of Bulleit Bourbon. The scenes involving John Dutton and Beth sipping Bulleit Bourbon together not only reinforce the brand but also emphasize the importance of relationships, power dynamics, and the shared moments that resonate with the show’s themes.

Bulleit Bourbon, produced by Diageo and distilled in Kentucky, is known for its higher-than-usual rye content, roughly 28% rye in the mashbill. That gives it a spicier, more assertive character than many softer corn-forward bourbons. It’s a spirit with an edge, which made it a perfect match for a family with a lot of edge.

In the vast expanse of the Yellowstone ranch, another character emerges through the familiar sight of a glass of Crown Royal in the hands of rancher Rip. That’s right. Rip Wheeler, played by Cole Hauser, wasn’t drinking the same bourbon as John Dutton in earlier seasons. Crown Royal, a Canadian whisky produced by Diageo, has a softer, smoother character that arguably suits Rip’s quieter, more stoic persona.

Season 5: The Buffalo Trace and Weller Takeover

By Season 5, Yellowstone had become the dominant force in American television, and the whiskey brands on screen leveled up accordingly.

Season 5 featured Beth pulling a bottle out of her purse to make a drink for her father, and, against her wishes, for her brother as well, using Weller 12 Year, a top-tier, aged Buffalo Trace bourbon that includes wheat in the mash. Another character is seen ordering a Buffalo Trace at the Dutton victory party’s enthusiastically received open bar. After Ryan places his order, others pile on until the bartender declares he’ll just make one “for anybody in a cowboy hat.”

The night that Season 5 premiered, Buffalo Trace held their own premiere: their first-ever television advertisement. The timing was no coincidence. This was a full-scale partnership rollout.

Buffalo Trace Distillery has also launched an entire collection of merchandise in collaboration with Yellowstone. The Yellowstone Collection, available for purchase online and at their gift shop, includes a sweatshirt, T-shirt, trucker hat, and fittingly, a set of rocks glasses. Additionally, Buffalo Trace Yard House Yellowstone Single Barrel Select became available at 85 Yard House locations in 27 states.

A Closer Look at Every Major Whiskey Featured on the Show

Bulleit Bourbon: The Original Dutton Spirit

Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Proof: 90
Mashbill: 68% corn, 28% rye, 4% malted barley
Price (approximate): $30 to $35

Bulleit is the pioneer brand that put Yellowstone on the bourbon map from the very first episode. Its high rye content makes it notably spicier than most bourbons, with flavors of vanilla, toffee, and oak balanced against a dry, peppery finish. It’s assertive without being aggressive, a descriptor that doubles as a fair summary of John Dutton himself.

Bulleit, made in Kentucky, is considered a classic bourbon and a great fit for the portrayed lifestyle.

Beyond Yellowstone, Bulleit has long been a bartender’s favorite for cocktails. It makes a superb Old Fashioned and an excellent Manhattan. But on Yellowstone, characters typically take it neat or on the rocks, which says everything about how the Duttons approach life.

Buffalo Trace: The Season 5 Centerpiece

Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Proof: 90
Mashbill: Corn, rye, and malted barley (exact proportions undisclosed)
Price (approximate): $30 to $40

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is made with a blend of corn, rye, and barley malt and aged in new oak barrels. Buffalo Trace Distillery, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, is one of the oldest continuously operating distilleries in America, with production dating back to 1773 in some form or another. The current distillery building has been in operation for over 200 years.

What makes Buffalo Trace special isn’t just history, it’s consistency. The bourbon reliably delivers notes of caramel, vanilla, dark fruit, and a hint of mint on the finish. It’s approachable enough for a newcomer but complex enough to keep a veteran interested. At its price point, it represents some of the best value in American whiskey.

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The brand’s alignment with Yellowstone is culturally powerful. Both Buffalo Trace and the Duttons represent something that’s been holding its ground for generations in the face of forces that want to tear it down.

Weller 12 Year: The Rarest Pour on the Ranch

Type: Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey
Proof: 90
Age: 12 years
Price (approximate): $40 to $50 MSRP, but often $200 or more on the secondary market

Part of the Buffalo Trace Distillery family of brands, Weller is the original wheated whiskey, and it used to be both a hidden gem and a major bargain. Before Pappy Van Winkle’s recent resurgence caused the ongoing pandemonium surrounding wheated bourbon, Weller 12 could easily be found on shelves and cost around $20 a bottle. These days, it fetches several hundred from resellers, if you’re lucky enough to even find a bottle.

When Beth Dutton pulls a bottle of Weller 12 out of her purse in the Season 5 premiere, the scene lands with a very specific weight for anyone who knows the whiskey world. It’s not just a premium bourbon. It’s practically unobtainable through normal retail channels, which means Beth either has serious connections or she’s been hoarding. Either option tracks perfectly with her character.

Obviously, given the Duttons’ powerful connections, they had no problem procuring themselves a bottle of the good stuff. In fact, one wouldn’t be surprised if they have a whole cabinet full of the stuff back at the ranch.

Weller 12 uses wheat instead of rye as the secondary grain in its mashbill, which gives it a softer, creamier profile than rye-forward bourbons. Think soft caramel, baking spice, honey, and a long, warm finish. Many bourbon hunters chase Weller 12 as a more accessible alternative to Pappy Van Winkle, which is produced from the same wheated mashbill at Buffalo Trace.

Crown Royal: Rip Wheeler’s Quiet Choice

Type: Canadian Blended Whisky
Proof: 80
Price (approximate): $30 to $35

Crown Royal occupies a unique place in the Yellowstone whiskey lineup because it’s the only Canadian whisky in the mix, and it belongs specifically to Rip Wheeler. In one scene, John and his co-star Rip Wheeler are seen drinking Crown, served neat.

Crown Royal is silky smooth and relatively sweet, with flavors of vanilla, light oak, and dried fruit. It’s a blend of over 50 distinct whiskies produced at a single distillery in Gimli, Manitoba. The contrast between Crown Royal’s gentle character and Rip’s bruising, violent nature is part of what makes the choice interesting. Rip Wheeler is many things, but he’s not showy. Crown Royal is the whisky equivalent of a man who doesn’t need to prove anything.

The “Yellowstone” Bourbon Brand: A Name With Deep Roots

Here’s where things get a little confusing for fans. There is actually a bourbon called Yellowstone, but it has nothing to do with the TV show’s production. Yet its backstory is arguably more interesting than any character on the show.

The Yellowstone brand of bourbon was introduced in 1872 by the J. B. Dant Distillery in Gethsemani, Kentucky. In 1920, the Yellowstone Bourbon brand was produced by James Thompson and Brothers and was bottled for “medicinal purposes only” during Prohibition.

Under the stewardship of Owensboro’s Glenmore Distilleries, Yellowstone Bourbon rose to prominence, becoming Kentucky’s top-selling bourbon in the 1960s and earning the title of “The Greatest American Whiskey.” Yet, like many in the bourbon world, Yellowstone faced headwinds in the 1970s as the industry declined and the brand faded from its former glory.

In 2010, Paul and Steve Beam, descendants of J. W. Dant and the Beam family, founded the Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky. In 2015, they formed a business partnership with Luxco to assume production of the Yellowstone brand.

Yellowstone Bourbon borrows its moniker from America’s first national park. The company donates a portion of Yellowstone Bourbon’s proceeds to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).

The Yellowstone bourbon brand currently offers two main expressions: Yellowstone Select (a blend of four and seven-year bourbons at 93 proof) and the annual Yellowstone Limited Edition (a higher-end blend using older sourced and house-distilled stocks with various barrel finishes). The Limited Edition is released each summer and routinely receives strong reviews from whiskey enthusiasts.

One thing you won’t see: a new Yellowstone bourbon from Buffalo Trace. That’s because Limestone Branch Distillery, in partnership with Luxco, already makes a bourbon named “Yellowstone” but it has nothing to do with the hit TV show.

The Full Whiskey Lineup: A Character-by-Character Reference

The Bunkhouse Drinks: Coors Banquet and the Working Man’s Reward

No breakdown of drinking on Yellowstone would be complete without acknowledging the beer. And on this show, beer has a specific address: the bunkhouse.

The bunkhouse band mostly drinks Coors Banquet beer, otherwise known as Coors Original. It is a brand owned by the Molson Coors Beverage Company.

Prominent product logos have been an integral part of the show for many seasons, from the characters’ Carhartt and Wrangler uniforms to Bulleit bourbon and Coors beer.

Coors Banquet is brewed in Golden, Colorado, using Rocky Mountain spring water. It’s a classic American lager, crisp and clean, the exact opposite of complexity. And that’s the point. After a 14-hour day on horseback, nobody in the bunkhouse wants to contemplate barrel-aging notes. They want cold, simple, and honest. Coors Banquet delivers on all three counts.

The cultural division is pointed. The Dutton family, who carry generational trauma and political warfare in their whiskey glasses, are separated from the ranch hands, who carry saddles and fence posts and cold beer. It’s class distinction written in liquid.

Beth Dutton’s Other Drink: The Tito’s Vodka Detail

Beth is by far the most complicated drinker on the show. While she’s closely associated with bourbon, she branches out in ways that reveal character.

In season 5, episode 4, “Horses in Heaven,” Beth is seen enjoying a Tito’s. Beth’s preference for vodka, specifically Tito’s, is a notable aspect of her character. In one instance, she is seen drinking it straight up, showcasing her no-nonsense attitude.

In later seasons, she is known to order a martini, specifically a vodka martini with Tito’s, instead of the traditional gin. This variation on a classic cocktail suits her character, as she is not one to conform to expectations.

Tito’s Handmade Vodka, a brand founded in Austin, Texas in the mid-1990s, has built its identity around a no-frills, craft-first ethos. It’s made using corn (making it technically gluten-free) and distilled in pot stills, which gives it a slightly richer texture than most column-distilled vodkas. Beth choosing Tito’s rather than, say, Grey Goose or Belvedere, feels true to character. She’s not performing sophistication. She’s drinking what she wants.

Cole Hauser’s Real-Life Whiskey Venture

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One of the most fascinating off-screen whiskey stories tied to Yellowstone involves Cole Hauser, the actor who plays Rip Wheeler.

Hauser has partnered in the making of Lazy K Bar Ranch Bourbon Whiskey, teaming up with Lazy K Bar ranch owner David Luschen and alcohol industry veteran Britt West. “It’s bringing out something that’s iconic, kind of a symbol of Montana and has been for over 100 years, bourbon in Montana,” said Hauser.

Hauser, who describes himself as a whiskey aficionado, says the taste sets it apart. “The smoothness of it,” said Hauser. “It’s a good thing and a bad thing depending, you know. You can drink a half a bottle of it real easy.”

The Lazy K Bar Ranch is an actual working ranch north of Big Timber, Montana, the kind of sprawling, rugged operation that Yellowstone is built around aesthetically. The fact that Hauser is personally invested in Montana-inspired bourbon, not just playing a cowboy on TV but actually making spirits with authentic regional roots, adds a layer of credibility to the whole whiskey-and-Yellowstone conversation that goes beyond product placement.

What the Product Placement Controversy Actually Tells Us

By Season 5 Part 2, the volume of branded content had grown conspicuous enough to attract attention.

Yellowstone season 5 part 2 features so much product placement that several fans have been calling the series out for overdoing it, feeling the series has reached a tipping point with its embedded marketing.

This reaction is instructive. It signals that audiences are now whiskey-literate enough to notice when screen time feels bought rather than earned. The brands themselves benefit from the association, but overexposure risks breaking the spell. The most effective whiskey placement in the show’s history, Weller 12 appearing in Beth’s purse in the Season 5 premiere, worked precisely because it felt character-motivated. Beth would absolutely hoard a bottle of near-unobtainable wheated bourbon.

When placements feel like character choices, they’re invisible. When they feel like advertisements, they become noise.

How to Drink Like the Duttons: A Practical Buying Guide

If you want to build a Yellowstone-worthy home bar, here’s exactly what to stock, with honest assessments at each price tier.

The Budget-Friendly Dutton Bar (Under $40)

• Bulleit Bourbon ($30 to $35): Start here. High rye, distinctive bottle, widely available. This is the show’s defining spirit and one of the most versatile bourbons at its price.
• Buffalo Trace ($30 to $40): Creamy, consistent, and genuinely excellent. If Bulleit is the show’s founding whiskey, Buffalo Trace is its current flagship.
• Coors Banquet (for the bunkhouse nights): Because not every evening calls for a neat pour of bourbon.

The Splurge Tier ($50 to $100)

• Yellowstone Select Bourbon (around $50): This is the actual Yellowstone-branded bourbon from Limestone Branch Distillery, carrying 150-plus years of history. A solid pour of aged Kentucky bourbon at 93 proof.
• Yellowstone Limited Edition (varies by year, typically $80 to $100): Annual release from the same distillery with more complexity and often unique barrel finishes. Collector-worthy and genuinely delicious.

The Trophy Cabinet (When You Can Find It)

• Weller 12 Year (MSRP $40 to $50, but typically $200 or more secondhand): This is Beth Dutton’s specific pour in Season 5. If you can find it at retail, buy it and drink it, don’t flip it. Soft, wheated, elegant, and deeply satisfying.
• W.L. Weller Special Reserve (MSRP around $25 to $30, but hard to find): A younger wheated Buffalo Trace product that gives you a taste of the Weller family’s signature softness at a friendlier age statement.

Yellowstone-Inspired Cocktails Worth Making at Home

Not every Yellowstone viewing night requires neat whiskey. Here are drinks inspired by the show and its spirits.

The Dutton Old Fashioned

The most character-appropriate cocktail on the ranch. Combine 2 oz Bulleit Bourbon with a sugar cube, two dashes of Angostura bitters, and a splash of water. Stir over ice. Garnish with an orange peel and a cherry. Serve in a rocks glass. This is John Dutton in a glass, classic, strong, and uncompromising.

The Beth Martini

2 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka, 0.5 oz dry vermouth, stirred cold and strained into a chilled martini glass. Two olives. No garnish fuss, no gin. This is Beth’s drink, precise, confident, and not asking for your opinion.

The Bunkhouse Highball

For a more elaborate bunkhouse-style cocktail, combine bourbon, maple syrup, coffee liqueur, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass and express an orange peel over the glass. This one works beautifully as a late-night sipper after a long fictional day on the range.

Why American Bourbon Became the Show’s Defining Symbol

The choice of bourbon, specifically Kentucky bourbon, over Scotch or Irish whiskey or Tennessee sour mash, is not arbitrary. Bourbon is an American creation, protected by federal law, born from the same post-frontier agricultural culture that Yellowstone is built on.

Bourbon fits well with the image of American strength and Big Sky Country that form the backbone of the show and its main characters. As a form of whiskey that originated in the U.S. and which utilizes American-grown corn, bourbon feels like an over-determined choice for what to drink.

By law, bourbon must be made in the United States, from a grain mixture of at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak barrels, distilled to no more than 160 proof, and entered into the barrel at no more than 125 proof. It requires no minimum age unless labeled “straight,” in which case it needs at least two years. These requirements were largely codified in 1964, when Congress recognized bourbon as “a distinctive product of the United States.”

That legal designation matters here. When the Duttons drink bourbon, they’re not just drinking whiskey. They’re drinking something the U.S. government says belongs to America. For a family whose entire identity is built around claiming ownership of American land, it’s the only logical pour.

The Bigger Picture: Yellowstone’s Influence on American Whiskey Sales

The commercial impact of Yellowstone‘s whiskey partnerships has been real and measurable.

Yellowstone has sparked renewed interest in bourbon among viewers. Brands featured on the show, such as Bulleit Bourbon, have seen increased popularity. The series showcases various whiskey styles, including premium options like Yellowstone Select and Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Product placement of these spirits has been strategically integrated into the storyline, making them feel like natural choices for the characters. This subtle marketing approach has led to a surge in sales for featured brands. Viewers often seek to emulate the drinking habits of their favorite Yellowstone characters, leading to a rise in bourbon consumption and appreciation.

This isn’t a small trend. Yellowstone was reportedly the most-watched cable drama of 2022, drawing over 12 million viewers per episode at its peak. When that many people watch the same characters reach for the same bottle week after week, brand recall becomes almost automatic.

Buffalo Trace and Bulleit have both benefited enormously from the association. Meanwhile, the actual Yellowstone bourbon brand from Limestone Branch Distillery has gained a visibility boost from the show’s cultural presence, even without a formal partnership, simply because casual fans searching “Yellowstone whiskey” often land on the brand.

A Closing Toast from the Ranch

Here’s the thing about Yellowstone and whiskey that nobody really talks about: the show doesn’t romanticize drinking. John Dutton doesn’t drink because it’s stylish. He drinks because he’s exhausted, because the weight of legacy never lifts, because some evenings the only honest thing left in the room is a glass of something amber and old. That’s what good bourbon does. It doesn’t pretend the world is simple. It just makes it a little more bearable.

The next time you’re watching the show and someone pours a glass, notice when it happens. It’s almost always a threshold moment, a decision made or deferred, a relationship tested or affirmed. The whiskey doesn’t just furnish a scene. It marks time.

Pour yourself something good. You’ve earned it.

Sources: https://chesbrewco.com
Category: Wine