Wilderness Trail Small Batch Bottled In Bond Bourbon Whiskey
Wilderness Trail Small Batch Bottled In Bond Bourbon Whiskey is a 750mL Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at exactly 100 proof (50% ABV), as bottled-in-bond law requires — one distiller, one distillery, one distilling season, at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse. This is the distillery's rye small-grain recipe — 64% corn, 24% rye, 12% malted barley — made by sweet mash in Danville, Kentucky, in small batches drawn from a single fermenter. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 50% (100 proof) — bottled in bond
- Size: 750mL
- Origin: Wilderness Trail Distillery, Danville, Kentucky
- Mash bill: 64% corn, 24% rye, 12% malted barley
- Process: Sweet mash — fresh yeast every batch, no backset
- Age: At least 4 years (bottled-in-bond minimum)
- Barrels: Cooper-select, 18-month air-dried staves, #4 char; entered at 110 proof
Sweet Mash, Rye Grain, Bonded Proof
Wilderness Trail was founded in Danville in 2012 by fermentation scientists Shane Baker and Dr Pat Heist, who had spent years consulting for other distillers through Ferm Solutions before building their own. Their signature is sweet mash: where most Kentucky bourbon ferments with sour-mash backset, every Wilderness Trail batch starts with fresh yeast, a discipline the founders credit for a softer, more grain-forward spirit. The spirit comes off the still around 137 proof and enters cooper-select barrels — 18-month air-dried staves, toasted, #4 char — at a deliberately low 110 proof, then rests in the distillery's rickhouses before small batches are bottled in bond at 100 proof. The producer's own page lists 2023 honours for this bourbon including an Ascot Awards Platinum. Explore the distillery's other bottlings on the Wilderness Trail vendor page and in our bourbon whiskey collection.
Tasting Notes
Per the producer's official notes for the rye-recipe bourbon: a rich, unfiltered deep amber colour; a nose of sweet baking spices, oak and dark fruits; a smooth, sweet palate opening to tobacco and brambly red and black fruits with leather and a hint of smoke; and a long, rye-led finish with warm oaky sweetness.
How to Enjoy
Neat first — bonded proof and 24% rye give it the spice and structure for a serious Manhattan or Old Fashioned once you've had it straight. More Kentucky bourbon is in our bourbon whiskey collection and the full range in our spirits collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does bottled in bond mean?
A US legal standard dating to 1897: the bourbon must be the product of one distiller at one distillery in one distilling season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof.
What is sweet mash?
Each batch is fermented with fresh yeast and no sour-mash backset. Wilderness Trail — founded by fermentation scientists — uses sweet mash as its only mashing technique and credits it for a softer, more grain-forward whiskey.
Is this the wheated or the high-rye Wilderness Trail bourbon?
The high-rye recipe: 64% corn, 24% rye, 12% malted barley. Wilderness Trail also bottles a wheated bottled-in-bond bourbon on the same 64% corn frame with wheat in place of the rye — a different bottle with a softer profile.
Danville sweet mash at bonded proof, with rye doing the talking — order Wilderness Trail Small Batch Bottled In Bond Bourbon online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.