Day 4 of DB's Bourbon Trail 2023 Advent Calendar - Wilderness Trail Gibby's Single Barrel Select

Cheers and welcome to our 4th Annual Advent Calendar! Throughout the next month, we will be going on a high-end bourbon journey together and reviewing 25 bourbons from award winning distilleries across America. Starting on December 1st and ending on December 25th - we will get to experience everything from small batches to single barrels that are jam packed with flavor. Please join us in toasting to another incredible year and getting to virtually share some of our favorite bottles from this past year with you!

**This review has been completed by using a Glencairn glass and neat if you want to compare the same tasting notes as DB’s Bourbon Trail. BUT - the best thing about it being YOUR bourbon is that you get to enjoy it that way YOU want to and prefer! As long as it brings us together and you are enjoying it - pour it over ice, add water, or add it to a cocktail! It’s all about what makes you happy and what you enjoy - don’t let others influence you differently!**

Enough of me rambling, let’s dive into what brought us here!

Day 4 of DB’s Bourbon Trail 2023 Advent Calendar

Wilderness Trail

Single Barrel Select from Gibby's Bottle Shop

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Family Reserve Cask Strength

Proof:

• 112.94 Proof (56.47%)

Distillery:

• Wilderness Trail Distillery (Danville, KY)

Age Statement:

• 4 Years 2 Months

Message on the bottle:

There isn't much information about the distillery on the bottle but it does have an age statement, as well as, Yeast Strain (927).

A specific yeast strain was interesting to me because that's normally not something you see on a bottle, so off to google we go!

"The Distillery" Wilderness Trail

"With strong backgrounds in several sciences and more than 20 years of industry experience, we started our Bourbon path with a lot of yeast strains we collected over the years and combined those proprietary yeast with a premium selection of seed grade corn, wheat and rye varietals grown just a few miles from the distillery on Caverndale Farms. We also source rye from Walnut Grove Farms in Adairville, Ky. Our malted barley, grown in the northern states, arrives at the distillery from a grain elevator in Louisville. Our water comes from Kentucky’s natural limestone springs. We primarily produce two varieties of Bourbon Whiskey and a Rye Whiskey, all of which are made with 100 percent KY Proud®-sourced ingredients.

A noticeable distinction in our process and the flavor of our whiskeys comes from our proprietary Infusion Mashing Process, a process where we use the exact amount of heat to gelatinize starches without degradation of the quality of the grains. We find this process yields a much softer and flavorful distillate when married with our unique yeast strains. Another important distinction is that our steam is chemical-free because we use a clean steam boiler, the first Kentucky Bourbon distillery to do so. With this process, we avoid using boiler chemicals or off flavors."

Price Point:

**At DB’s Bourbon Trail we utilize an app called BoozApp (not sponsored - we wish!) to ensure we are getting at least a fair price on our bourbon before purchasing. Nothing is worse than getting taken advantage of by a flipper playing the supply/demand game**

• Average MSRP:

  • $69.99

• Fair Price:

  • $88.36

• Shelf Price:

  • $69.99

• DB’s Bourbon Trail Instant Buy Price:

  • <$59.99 (pretty sure this was the price at Gibby's. Best prices in town)

Review:

When I was reviewing their website, I thought this statement was worth noting:

Another unique distinction our whiskeys have is that we make a Sweet Mash instead of the Sour Mash technique. We were the first of Kentucky’s distillers to embrace the sweet mash process as our sole mashing technique. By not acidifying the mash, we are able to bring more flavors forward from the grains with a softer finish

I loved the uniqueness of this pour and knowing that they were the pioneers to embrace something different and special, makes it even better.

Nose:

• Initially, the nose of this pour is like walking into a bakery. I get hit with a fresh bread smell and then a few sweeter notes of vanilla And honey

Palate:

• This is where all the fun starts within this pour and a solid battle between sweet and spice. At first, there is a sweeter profile to the palate filled with notes of creamy vanilla and honey butter. As the palate begins to expand, the fresh bread notes in the beginning of the nose turns into rye toast and an explosion of cinnamon spice that brings some heat.

Finish:

• This is the longest finish we have had so far in our advent calendar. The heat from the palate hangs around and goes very well into the finish with notes of toasted bread. Even through the lingering heat and warm Kentucky hug, sweet notes of honey is present.

Final Thoughts:

Wilderness Trial may be one of the younger Kentucky distilleries we will be featuring this year but that does not mean that they are lacking at all in flavor. This pour was unique from the start and did not disappoint as the flavor intensifies throughout the pour. Definitely a distillery worth checking out if this is your first time trying out one of their bottles!

Cheers y’all!

Interesting in what else we might have cooking? Learn more here!

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