Wilderness Family Reserve Cask Strength Single Barrel Rye Whiskey Southern

750 ml, 52.7% ABV

“Wilderness Trail Distillery co-founders Shane Baker and Pat Heist first started distilling operations in Danville, Kentucky in 2013. For their aged whiskeys, they start with Kentucky sourced grains and a proprietary yeast, which is a blend of strains collected over the years. A proprietary Infusion Mashing Process is used for their sweet mash, which is said to produce a softer and flavorful distillate. A chemical-free steam boiler is used, where only pure steam goes into their cooker and beer column. Distillation started with a 250 gallon Vendome Pot Hybrid Still, which produced the first bourbons they made. As the company has expanded, they introduced both a 40 foot tall, 18-inch beer column still and a 40 foot tall, 36-inch continuous beer still along with a 500 gallon doubler.

Whiskeys enter 53-gallon #4 char barrels at 110 proof for bourbon and 100 proof for rye, which is believed to be the lowest rye entry proof in Kentucky. Wilderness Trail states that their goal is to age whiskeys onsite for an average of 6-8 years, however as honey barrels are identified they’re being released in limited quantities to the market……

 It’s peppy and bright on the nose, with aromas of butterscotch, rye, vanilla, and a hint of caramel. On the sip, rye spice is most prominent, along with balanced sweet notes of honey and caramel. There’s a youthful characteristic to it as well, but not overly so. The finish is warming with a touch of leather, oak, citrus, and finally more rye spice. It sticks around for a while with rye spice lingering the longest.” Breaking Bourbon