Wilderness Trail Distillery

Overview

Wilderness Trail Distillery is located in Danville, Kentucky, and blends modern science with traditional distilling methods to craft grain-forward bourbon. Founded in 2012 by Shane Baker and Pat Heist, the distillery is known for its consistent use of sweet mash and for adhering to bottled-in-bond standards in its small-batch productions. The facility presents itself as an innovation-focused craft distillery with substantial aging capacity.

History

Shane Baker and Pat Heist met as students in 1996 and later started Ferm Solutions in 2006, a fermentation consulting firm, which paved the way for their own distillery. In 2012 they opened Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville, the first legal distillery in the town since Prohibition. The distillery received early recognition and was named Kentucky Manufacturer of the Year in 2016. In 2018 they launched the three core whiskeys, of which the flagship was the first bottled-in-bond, wheated, sweet-mash bourbon released in Kentucky since Prohibition. In 2020 the site was officially added as the 18th stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Since its founding, the warehouse has grown to over 100,000 barrels housed on a 168-acre campus.

Raw Materials and Production

Wilderness Trail works with four core grains in its mashbills: corn, wheat, malted barley, and rye. Instead of the common sour mash technique, they use sweet mash, where each batch is made with fresh ingredients without reusing acidic backset. A proprietary infusion mashing system ensures precise temperature control during mashing and is designed to maximize extraction and flavor while keeping energy use low. For their bottled-in-bond editions, they follow the historical requirements: distillation within one season, a minimum of four years aging in bonded warehouses, and bottling at 100 proof. Small-batch methods, typically 20 barrels or fewer per batch for bonded editions, are used to achieve consistency across batches.

Aging and Barrel Types

The distillery ages its barrels in several rickhouses and bonded warehouses on a 168-acre campus and has over 100,000 barrels in stock. The bottled-in-bond products are stored in the bonded facilities for at least four years to meet the classification requirements. The available information does not specify exactly which barrel types or sources of oak, but highlights the scale of the warehouse and the structure of bonded maturation.

Whiskeys

Wilderness Trail introduced in 2018 three core whiskeys as its first commercial releases, with a flagship that distinguished itself as a bottled-in-bond, wheated, sweet-mash bourbon. Generally, the portfolio centers around bonded, small-batch bourbons with a grain-forward approach and a production philosophy that emphasizes precision in mashbills and batch control.

General Flavor Profile

Grain-forward.

Visit the Distillery

The website invites guests to visit the distillery and describes the experience as educational, with a focus on their scientific approach to production. Wilderness Trail is an official stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, making it a natural target for bourbon travelers, and the site encourages dropping by to see the facilities.

Philosophy and Craft

Wilderness Trail combines modern science and engineering practices with traditional distilling methods. They prioritize precision in mashbills, grain quality, energy-efficient processes through their infusion mashing, and a strict adherence to the bottled-in-bond standard to ensure consistency and high quality.

Awards and Recognitions

• Kentucky Manufacturer of the Year (2016)