
Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon Whiskey (Sweet Mash)
Wilderness Trail · Wilderness Trail Distillery
Wilderness Trail's sweet-mash process produces a bourbon with unusual clarity and grain-forward purity. This single barrel bottling shows how high proof and careful fermentation science can deliver both power and precision. A serious sipper that rewards patience and a few drops of water.
Nose
Opens with a surge of butterscotch and ripe red apple, followed by toasted oak and a thread of caramel corn. A faint floral note, almost carnation, emerges as the proof settles in the glass.
Palate
Rich and coating, with dark cocoa and brown spices arriving immediately. Midpalate transitions to cherry and pecan, with an unmistakable corn sweetness anchoring everything. The high proof delivers heat without aggression.
Finish
Long and warming, trailing charred oak and a final whisper of vanilla. The sweetness recedes slowly, leaving behind a mineral-like dryness.
- Mash Bill
- 64% corn, 24% wheat, 12% malted barley (Sweet Mash)
- Barrel Type
- New charred American white oak, #4 char
- Bottled in Bond
- No
- Single Barrel
- Yes
- Wheated
- Yes
Cocktail Suggestion
Stone Orchard Old Fashioned — 2 oz Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Cask Strength · 0.25 oz demerara syrup · 3 dashes Angostura bitters · 1 dash orange bitters · Stir over a large ice cube, garnish with an expressed orange peel.
Food Pairing
The charred oak and brown spice in the bourbon play against the smoke and fat of the pork belly, while the apple chutney mirrors the red apple note on the nose.
Founded by fermentation scientists Dr. Pat Heist and Shane Baker in Danville, Kentucky, Wilderness Trail applies microbiology expertise to craft bourbon with uncommon grain clarity.
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