Just the Sip reviews are a more simplified version of the existing scoresheet format with the goal of reviewing more spirits, such as samples, barrel picks, and others that may be more difficult to do full reviews on. Both scoresheet and review formats will exist and be regularly posted. Learn more here.

Batch BN-WC22, 56.72% ABV, 3 barrels with the youngest being 4 years 5 months, rickhouse A, yeast strain FP1

Nose: Yeast, Vanilla, Clove, Squash

Bright, Buttery, Floral

Palate: Vanilla, Toasted Marshmallow, Macadamia Nut Cookies, Toasted Coconut

Warm, Creamy, Light

Finish: Confectionary Sugar, Lightly Buttered Toast, Cream Cheese Danish, Sassafras

Mellow, Warm, Full

The story behind this selection is that Chad and Sara of It’s Bourbon Night recorded some footage at Wilderness Trail for a Know Your Distillery video before being offered the chance to do a barrel pick. They started with six barrels, eliminated three, and decided to blend the remaining three which, thanks to the higher yield, meant they could easily justify opening the pick to the public rather than behind Patreon.

I’m fully on record as a big fan of Wilderness Trail’s wheated bottled in bond bourbon, so I was excited to try a version of that same bourbon at cask strength. And while I pull out some enticing notes while sipping, I can’t help but feel that distinct, sweet, and buttery squash profile I adored in the lower proof version is lost at a higher strength. Perhaps the relative youth of Wilderness Trail’s wheated mash bill reveals its shortcomings more when left uncut, or maybe the yeast strain plays a part if my previous bottle utilized a different one? Either way, I don’t have nearly the same affinity for this pick that I did for the standard bottling.

This isn’t to say that I dislike the pick; I just find myself appreciating it more than I outright enjoy it. Where some bottles are greater than the sum of their parts, I feel “Wheat Science” is more the opposite.