Wilderness Trail Bottled in Bond Single Barrel Bourbon (Wheated Bourbon)

Without a way to thread posts on Distiller I will point out that this is part of a series of posts regarding Bulleit, Wilderness Trail and James E. Pepper distillery tours. This was the second stop on our distillery outing. Born out of Ferm-Solutions, a trouble shooting duo of scientists and entrepreneurs serving the bourbon, wine, etc industry this is possibly the most transparent distillery out there. And they are growing - rapidly. Rick house #8 is now going up and being filled with around 200 barrels a day. At ~200 bottles per barrel that is 40,000 bottles a day. The fact that they bottle ~10 barrels a day means their stock is piling up and aging. I absolutely believe there are good things to come. Their mash room and their young bourbon smell almost identical. Butterscotch aroma hit you as soon as you walk through their front doors. Local corn and wheat are mashed with imported barley for 2-3 days around 80-90 degrees before heading to the still. Their low wine comes off at 110 proof and the doubler takes it to ~140 proof prior to barreling at 110 proof. All of this should mean plenty of grain components are making their way into the barrel to become a plethora of flavor. The barrels, by the way, come from the ICS barrel company. They are made of 33 staves, aged in open air for 1 1/2 to 2 years before toasting and then hit with a level 4 char. Thanks to their dry wood the whiskey can completely permeate the barrel in 4 years while un-dried staves might only be permitted 60% in 8 years. Aged in wooden rick houses with aluminum siding, 6 stores high. They average 115 degrees on the top floor (where their rye ages) and lose 5-9% of their volume annually (compared to 2-4% per year on the bottom where their bourbons age). Which brings us to their yellow label, bonded in bond offering. Four years, 100 proof and loaded with aromas of vanilla, corn and sawdust. There is a medium mouthfeel with lots of vanilla, slight Lipton tea notes, some dusty oak and a bit of banana. With 24% wheat as the flavoring grain none of this should be that surprising. I would say it's good, but not great... yet. It is probably on par, if not better, than Weller green label at only 4 years old but also runs $50 instead of $18 (which winds up closer to $30 anymore if you can even find it). Next up, their high rye BiB... let's see how they compare.

At it’s best, it’s buttery popcorn. But there is a grassy, cardboard note I’ve never been able to overcome.

Could use some aging.

Nose - toffee, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, apple, mint, banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - caramel, vanilla, sour apple, cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar, bitter herbal notes, light oak, mint, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with caramel, baking spice, and mint flavors. The nose greets you with some classic bourbon aromas, but there are mint and underripe banana in the mix as well. I don’t find the normal cherry note I usually get on wheated bourbons, but there is some apple fruitiness. It’s a simple, but solid nose. The palate arrives with caramel and vanilla, but there’s a general sourness that pervades the whole experience, which reads to me as youth. I’m the first to admit that wheaters aren’t my thing, and this is no exception. It’s above average for me, but the youthfulness and lack of depth hold it back from a higher rating. Thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for the sample. I’ll keep Wilderness Trail on my radar, but I think I need more age on wheated bourbons for them to excite me.

First go: just tons of crushed peanut m&ms on the nose. On the tongue, some caramel, a little bit of green apple, and lots of brown sugar and nutty sweetness. The finish is decently long with more crushed peanut m&ms,m. Lots of dessert deliciousness. Interested to see how it develops over time.