Wilderness Trail Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Sweet Mash Wheated)
Wilderness Trail · Wilderness Trail Distillery
Wilderness Trail's sweet mash process — forgoing the sour mash setback that dominates bourbon — creates a cleaner canvas for grain character to shine. This wheated cask strength expression rewards patience with a layered, dessert-like complexity that never overwhelms.
Nose
Warm butterscotch and toasted wheat open the nose, followed by ripe cherry and a drift of vanilla bean. Underneath, a faint echo of cornbread and light floral notes emerge with time.
Palate
Full-bodied and creamy, with caramel and dark cherry leading into layers of charred oak and baking spice. The wheat softens the mid-palate, letting brown sugar and a hint of pecan develop.
Finish
Long and warming, with lingering butterscotch, oak tannin, and a dusting of cocoa powder.
- Mash Bill
- Wheat, corn, malted barley (wheated)
- Barrel Type
- New charred American oak
- Bottled in Bond
- No
- Single Barrel
- No
- Wheated
- Yes
Cocktail Suggestion
Wheat & Honey Old Fashioned — 2 oz Wilderness Trail Cask Strength Wheated Bourbon · 0.25 oz honey syrup · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · Stir over ice, strain over a large cube, garnish with an orange peel.
Food Pairing
A warm brown butter pecan tart with a pinch of sea salt mirrors the bourbon's butterscotch and nut character while the pastry crust echoes the toasted wheat.
Founded by fermentation scientists Dr. Pat Heist and Shane Baker in Danville, Kentucky, Wilderness Trail applies a microbiologist's precision to a sweet mash process that most distillers abandoned a century ago.
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