Review of Wilderness Trail High Rye Bourbon Bottled in Bond

Wilderness Trail Distillery was founded by Shane Baker and Dr. Patrick Heist in 2006 and was acquired by Campari in late 2022. Wilderness Trail High Rye Bourbon Bottled in Bond has a mashbill consisting of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Batch no. 18K0922 has an $60 price point.

A surprisingly potent aroma may catch you off guard as a hefty amount of caramel billows from the glass. The caramel then turns to candy corn, fresh cut grass, buttercream frosted cinnamon rolls, and raspberry cream. It’s well composed and balanced as all of the scents cohere nicely. There’s a rich oak scent near the tail end of the nose that nicely caps off this enjoyable aroma.

Like the nose, the palate starts off with a burst of rich caramel. Plenty of bourbons feature a caramel note, but this is notable for its overall richness and viscosity. It’s thick and mouth coating which further draws out notes of butterscotch, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and a touch of raspberry. Late into the palate, a minty note develops that is careful not to overpower and helps to maintain your interest level. The palate is largely straightforward but its flavors, like its aroma, work well together thanks to their overall richness.

The finish takes a sharp and unexpected turn due to its high rye content. As straightforward as the palate was, the finish introduces a slew of completely new flavor notes. A strong taste of cinnamon hits first and is quickly followed by bitter chocolate, rye spice, barrel char, and black pepper. It’s a noticeable 180 from the palate. A nutty underbelly of the finish is soon revealed and is accented by an almond note. The finish is quite expressive and spice-filled as it slowly begins to lean dry. The mint from the palate also carries over and lingers long after the sip ends. As interesting and dynamic as the finish sounds, in application it struggles to reach higher highs due to its barrel char and lingering dryness.

When Wilderness Trail hit the scene in 2012, they were able to very quickly and skillfully avoid the “yet another craft distillery” tag during the flood of startup distilleries at the time. One of the ways they did this was by offering a better product than so many of the rush-to-market bourbons that appeared during that time. Wilderness Trail quickly developed a passionate fan base that has stayed with them throughout the years. This combination of quality and customer base allowed them to continually grow and ramp up production, and as some expected, led to their buyout.

Campari, who also owns Wild Turkey, isn’t exactly short on supply and quite possibly was looking to expand their brand portfolio through flavor diversity and/or the expertise of Baker and Heist. Wilderness Trail whiskeys have done well to not taste like they’re from a typical big Kentucky distillery, though that gap is getting smaller as the years go on.

Their high rye bourbon is a great example of this. Caramel, a common flavor in most bourbons, is present here, yet noticeably more potent. The bourbon also has a distinct mouthfeel which helps amplify its notes of butterscotch, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Most notable is how pronounced its rye component is during the bourbon’s finish. While it’s not overly unique or out of left field, it stood out to me in good and bad ways. It’s the bourbon’s combination of cinnamon, bitter chocolate, rye spice, barrel char, and black pepper that makes the finish an unexpectedly blunted and spicy affair. That may turn off some who are used to high rye bourbons offering only a mild increase in rye characteristics that can be found in Basil Hayden or Old Grand-Dad Bottled in Bond for example. Here though, that seems like the bourbon’s hallmark calling card.

Wilderness Trail High Rye Bourbon’s $60 asking price definitely puts it in the realm of many of its peers. While prices of many products – not just bourbon – have increased over the past few years, many distilleries, especially established craft ones, have been trending in the opposite direction. Wilderness Trail on the other hand have been slowly increasing their pricing during that same time. When I took a look at their Wheated Bourbon in 2018, their pricing was $46. The buyout from Campari seems to have little direct effect on their pricing so far. Where Wild Turkey offers some of the best value in bourbon, that same pricing mentality hasn’t been carried over to Wilderness Trail just yet. Campari may have decided to keep Wilderness Trail as their boutique artisan product despite their expected increase in production in the years ahead. Here and now though, many will accept its $60 price point when deciding to purchase it, but the High Rye Bourbon’s conventional caramel dominated palate along with its interesting yet average finish could butt up against its asking price.