EBS STAFF
Cole Hauser, star of the TV series “Yellowstone,” has partnered with the Lazy K Bar Ranch beside the Crazy Mountains and a Livingston-based beverage industry veteran to bring eight-year-old Kentucky bourbon whiskey to Montana.
According to a press release from brand representatives, Lazy K Bar Whiskey is bottled in Bozeman and is currently only available in Montana. It’s named after one of the state’s oldest operating cattle ranches, founded in 1887 north of Big Timber. Ranch owner David Leuschen and 25-year distiller Britt West, of Livingston, partnered with Hauser to create the product, which “celebrates the grit and strength of the pioneers that shaped Big Sky country,” the release states.
Lazy K Bar Ranch opened to guests in 1922, making it the oldest operating dude ranch in the state, according to the release. Leuschen stated in the release that Lazy K Bar guests are brought to an era when cowboys and ranch hands enjoyed whiskey as a hard-earned reward, not as a luxury.
“There’s a story behind the brand,” Hauser stated in the release. “This is a legacy project for all partners involved. We wanted to bring something to market that we’re proud of and that people can enjoy with their friends and family for 100 years to come. Montana is an extraordinary place with a lot of character, and our goal is to make sure that is reflected in Lazy K Bar Bourbon.”
West believes that the new product evokes the spirit of the Wild West.
“The bottle design is ruggedly handsome, burned with the ranch brand on aged leather, and topped off with a hefty brass closure, but it’s what’s inside the bottle that ultimately matters and we think people are going to be very pleased when they give us a try,” West stated.
Bottles of the 92-proof spirit will be sold in Montana for a suggested retail price of $100, according to the release.
