I used to head to Kentucky in order to bring home bourbon that I couldn’t find at home. Minnesota was very much a “you gotta know a guy” sort of place when it came to anything that was out of the ordinary. Which got more than a bit irritating when you are a blogger who very much did not know anyone who would even remotely qualify as one of those “guys.”
These days, I travel there more often to just “get away” and visit with friends and go to great bourbon bars. Sometimes all at once. See, while we here in Minnesota still aren’t usually in the first round of states that brands roll out to, we do seem hit the early-ish rounds fairly often. Which is nice. Driving 1500 miles (round-trip) for what is essentially a shopping trip is ridiculous, even for me.
Of course that doesn’t mean I don’t bring whiskey home with me. There is usually a store selection that makes it into the trunk of my car for the ride home. Or bottles from a growing number of really good craft distilleries.
Well, that last one might need to be scratched off the shopping list since some of those really good craft distilleries have recently started appearing on shelves that are only a couple of blocks from my house. Brands like New Riff and as of last month, Wilderness Trail. Wilderness Trail bourbon has been brought back from Kentucky numerous times. But for some reason, the small batch, black-labeled one has never made the trip. I’m not sure why. I guess even a guy who spends his time trying every new whiskey he can, can gravitate toward those he’s liked in the past.
So aside from the number of barrels that were combined in to make the juice in the bottle, what exactly is the difference between the yellow label with black writing and the black label with yellow writing? Well, the biggest difference is that the yellow-labeled Single Barrel is also a wheated bourbon. Small batch uses rye as the flavoring grain. Both are produced using a sweet-mash process and both are 100 proof and Bottled-in-Bond. Also, both are pretty delicious…though I guess I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let’s see what the distillery has to say about their product before I get into my thoughts:
Our Small Batch release mash bill is 64 percent corn, 24 percent rye and 12 percent malted barley using our yeast strains. We entered the cooper select, toasted and #4 char barrel at 110 proof after coming off the still around 137 proof. Aged in both our Rickhouse A at a mid- to upper-floor and in our Rickhouse B in the center of the warehouse.
Wilderness Trail Small Batch Bourbon (Batch 15D01)
Purchase Info: $47.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN
Price per Drink (50mL): $3.20
Details: 50% ABV. Bottled in Bond. Batch 15D01
Nose: Fruity and floral with baking spice.
Mouth: Fruity and floral with caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, and clove
Finish: Medium length and warm. Fruity Floral, and herbal with caramel, baking spice, and just a hint of dill.
Thoughts: This. Is. Delicious. It reminds me of my favorite Four Roses expressions. (I prefer the floral/herbal ones.) It has enough heat and spice to balance the floral/fruit/herbal notes nicely. Tell you what, I'm headed back to the store tomorrow so I can be sure to grab a couple more from the same batch. It is that good.
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