If you haven't procured your bottle of our recently released Rye Whiskey, never fear. Wilderness Trail Distillery, our favorite Kentucky Distillery, still has it for sale in the gift shop and it hits the market this week.
We hope you are enjoying the Wheated Bourbon because the big-time reviewers certainly are. The Wheated Single Barrel Bourbon received a 92 rating from Whisky Cast and the Rye Whiskey received a 92 rating Whisky Advocate. If you've been perusing The Whisky Advocate Fall Buying Guide, you have seen the accolades for both our Wheated Bourbon and Rye. Here's David Fleming's 92-point rating of the rye in the buying guide: "Orange, banana and nutmeg lead on the nose, along with a subtle note of cigar bar. A smooth, chocolaty palate melds with maple syrup, caramel, allspice and more tobacco. Water brings out heat and more spiciness, with orange and chocolate notes reprising on a long finish. The ABV here is lower than most barrel-proof whiskeys, but make no mistake: this one can stand up to the best of them." Equally complimentary is Susannah Skiver Barton's 86-point score review of the Wheated Bottled in Bond Single Barrel:
"It's all about the grain on the nose: corncob, cooked mash, along with hay and grass, brown sugar, and earthy dried herbs. Chewy tannins overtake more subtle fruit and spice notes in the mouth; add a little water to reveal grape jelly, milk chocolate, and cinnamon candy. An impressive start from this young Kentucky distillery, though the short finish shows it has some developing yet to do." Whisky Cast gave these tasting notes and a pat on the back for making it a Bottled in Bond, Single Barrel release. They said, "It takes a certain amount of confidence to make your first release a Bottled in Bond Single Barrel whiskey, and the whiskey justifies that confidence." As for the tasting notes, "The nose has soft spices, caramel, honey and vanilla notes. The taste has a nice touch of black pepper that doesn't overpower the sweeter notes of honey, caramel, dark chocolate and tree fruits for a nice balance and complexity. The finish is very long, and here the pepper just lasts and lasts while being complemented well by honey and caramel notes. Excellent!" And if this wasn't enough to arouse your curiosity, Great Drams in London, England, says Wilderness Trail's single barrel is the most hunted whiskey in the United States. Wilderness Trail appreciates all this celebrity elevation of their products, but Tam and I are very proud of our WTD and their recent sale of their Wheated Bourbon at Willett To Be Cured, a charity auction for the American Cancer Society. For this special occasion sponsored by The Bourbon Crusaders, WTD delivered a bottle from the first barrel ever made at Wilderness Trail. This one-of-a-kind offering brought $2,000. How cool is that! Cancer invades so many lives and that's why we are honored to represent Wilderness Trail as they participate in this occasion and help win this battle. To read Fred Minnick's assessment of the event, click on the on this link.