Wilderness Trail 8-Year Wheated Bourbon

Wheated bourbons have caught the fancy of many whiskey lovers. While Maker’s Mark and Weller catch the eye of many consumers today, some very good bourbons have been coming out of Danville, Kentucky and the Wilderness Trail Distillery. Today we’re checking out one of their oldest bourbons available - Wilderness Trail 8-Year Wheated Bourbon. 

Flavoring Grains 

One of the first things visitors learn on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is that bourbon is, by definition, an American spirit made from at least 51% corn. Most mash bills (the blend of grains used) include malted barley (which is used to support the active yeast in the fermentation process) and a flavoring grain. Rye is often used to balance the sweetness of the corn to add more complex and spicy notes to the finished spirit. Along with Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle and Bill Samuels Sr. (of Maker’s Mark fame), many discovered that using wheat as the secondary or flavoring grain resulted in a smoother, finished product.  

Founders Shane Baker and Dr. Pat Heist have used both rye and wheat as flavoring grains in their products at Wilderness Trail. As we learned on our 2021 tour, Wilderness Trail utilizes a"fresh mash" or "sweet mash" process. While most  distillers utilize a "sour mash" process where a portion of the prior batch's mash is "set back" (or serves as "backset") and is added to the next batch of mash to help in creating more consistent whiskeys, Wilderness Trail begins each batch of distillate with a fresh batch of yeast and does not utilize a sour mash process. The distillery has been producing spirits since 2012, and in October 2022, Campari (parent of Wild Turkey) purchased a 70% stake in Wilderness Trail. 

The Tasting

We’ve enjoyed several bourbons from Wilderness Trail and not too long ago sampled this bourbon’s sibling - Wilderness Trail 8-Year Small Batch. This bourbon is in the iconic rectangular Wilderness Trail bottle with script writing, and a yellow neck label indicating it has been aged 8 years. The mash bill is identical in proportions to the Small Batch product, and replaces the rye with wheat. The resulting blend of grains is 64 percent corn, 24 percent wheat and 12 percent malted barley). The finished product is bottled at 100 proof and is non-chill filtered.

Eye: Deep amber with a host of thin legs coating the sides of my Glencairn glass.

Nose: Vanilla, caramel, fruit crisp, and apple pie dough dusted in kitchen spices. 

Palate: Slippery with a delicious creamy mouth-feel. Fruit, vanilla, and gentle spice balanced the sweet tones.  

Finish: Long with oak, spice, and ripe, sweet dark fruits. 

Overall: Once again, Shane and Pat have pulled off another winner. Retail cost was $89, which in today’s bourbon market is fairly priced for a craft product of this age and proof.