Background

It’s my first formal Wilderness Trail review, and I’m honestly not sure how - I’ve unequivocally enjoyed everything I’ve had from them to date, but since it’s my first one for this distillery let’s start with some fun facts!

• Founders Shane Baker and Dr. Pat Heist met while playing in a rock band.

• They then start Ferm Solutions, a fermentation support company for distilleries. This venture allowed them to then start Wilderness Trail.

• The rye mashbill reviewed here is 56 rye/33 corn/11 malted barley.

• The barrel entry proof is “around 100 proof”. This means that, when we look at these as BiB and 100 proof, there’s a little less post-aging proofing down then what you would have in the more commonly used 125 barrel entry proof.

• They made a cool $600 mil, $420 now (nice) and the rest in 2031 off of a recent sale to Campari. 

Prior to hopping into the review, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also note that, to date, everyone I have interacted with from Wilderness Trail has been wonderful. Their customer service team is great, and founders Shane Baker and Dr. Pat Heist are fixtures at Jack Rose’s Premier Drams. I can attest first hand they will patiently let you bombard them with questions while you’re semi drunk and they are trapped at their product booth so can't escape you. Good people. Now for the whiskey!

Wilderness Trail Bottled in Bond Rye (NAS, 100 Proof)

Nose: Butterscotch, maple, hint o’ mint, orange peel.

Palate: Good bit of orange peel/citrus, brown sugar, clove, root beer.

Finish: Black pepper, pumpernickel bread, barrel spice and oak. More citrus!

Very Good (6/10)

Overall: Inviting nose, layered palate and a nice spicy finish, there's not much to complain about here. There’s the very occasional note on the mid palate that sticks out as perhaps a bit grain forward… but it’s almost as if you notice it one sip, it’s gone the next and you’re back to reveling in the flavors.  

Wilderness Trail 7 Year Bottled in Bond Rye (7 Years, 100 Proof)

Nose: A real natural mint smell is the predominant note, again some butterscotch, tea leaves.

Palate: It’s oily! Definitely more viscous than the base product. Butterscotch-y, mint leaves, orange peel, cloves.

Finish: Green tea, mint leaves, clove, a little longer and sweeter than the base.

Great (7/10)

Overall: Well this is lovely! It rounds out the occasionally rougher edge from the base offering, and there’s an excellent oily texture to the palate that makes it really stand out. While there can also be some occasional hand wringing in this hobby about offerings not being at barrel proof, rest assured the flavors pop here in a really satisfying, rye forward way. Here’s to hoping Wilderness Trail eventually releases this wider than just KY!