jonwilkinson7309
Wilderness Trail Bottled in Bond Single Barrel Bourbon (Wheated Bourbon)
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
September 20, 2020 (edited July 2, 2021)
This is barrel 15B2820C; bottle 257 of 257. I got this bottle in late July and opened it promptly, anxious to see if was worthy of the high praise Wilderness Trail has been receiving from the likes of Fred Minnick and many others.
I tried it on several different evenings within the first 10 days it was open. Had I rated it then, I would have composed a screed about an utterly over-hyped bottle of distilled pablum. In short, I found that it drank a lot hotter than 100 proof and lacked any distinctive taste or character. Heat, spice and muddled...mud, I suppose.
But life intervened and I never got around to my review. About seven weeks later, I decided to give it one more shot. I've had many a dram that's better a few weeks after the neck pour, but...wow. This was a transformation that elevated my bottle of WT to the lofty level of the hype the brand has been receiving.
This is a solid wheated bourbon - caramel and vanilla, oak and a touch of wood spice. Left to rest for almost two months, the excessive alcohol heat is gone. It's not complex and presents no surprises. But it's balanced, with the sweetness offset by a lovely oakiness that adds a nice touch of dryness to the finish.
I'm still marveling at the transformation, the degree of which is unparalleled in my whiskey experience. This is a very solid effort, one that doesn't warrant the "I'll be interested to see what it's like in a few years" statement that concludes all too many craft whiskey reviews. This dram is solid right now.
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@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington You're slightly off, GC-MS/MS would indicate slightly different levels of ethanol, esters, aldehydes, lactones, etc., from varying evaporation dependent on vapor pressures and boiling points. But it'll be close 😁
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington. I'm all for science, but regardless of what science says, my palate tells me something else.
Same experience with their 6yr wheated for me. At first it had all the character of wet cardboard. By the third or fourth pour 1-2 months in it was a different drink. I know that gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry would say it’s the same but the sweet, slightly syrupy, balanced spice and wood that this became is shocking compared to its initial self.
thank you for the thoughtful review. I haven't tried my bottle yet, but it does seem that many bottles need tasted a few weeks apart to really get all the nuances.
@ContemplativeFox. Looking forward to that review!
Great tip about how air helped it. I had a similar experience recently with my bottle of JD SiB CS (tasting forthcoming) where it was fine but 3 months later I was floored by how complex it was.
@PBMichiganWolverine Based on the three McKenzies, one Del Bac and one WT I've had, I'd say they're all in the same league - craft products that are among the best American whiskeys, no excuses or caveats required.
I’ve heard good things of these folks as well; really good to see a craft distillery that has a quality product now, as opposed to waiting a decade. Would you put these guys in the category as Mckenzie and Del Bac?