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    Home » Travel » Food Travel » Kentucky

    Wilderness Trail Distillery (Danville, KY)

    Published: Apr 18, 2023 · Modified: Nov 15, 2024 · Leave a Comment

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    For a great craft bourbon experience on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, visit the family-owned Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville.

    Rickhouse at Wilderness Trail Distillery.

    Wilderness Trail Distillery is just a few minutes outside downtown Danville, Kentucky, and is a member of the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

    Find tips for planning a Bourbon Trail trip in this guide. Then check out some of the smaller distillery tours available at Log Still, James E. Pepper, and Whiskey Thief.

    Thinking of adding this one to your itinerary? Here's how our tour went!

    Booking a Tour at Wilderness Trail Distillery

    As with most distilleries, it's best to book in advance online at Wilderness Trail.

    Tours last approximately an hour, with tastings at the end. The cost is $15 per person.

    View across small pond with rickhouses in distance.
    Rickhouses

    Exploring the Distillery

    The first tours begin at 9 a.m. (This was the time slot we had.)

    As our guide put it, “You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning!” Of course, I should probably add, this was just a joke. Drink responsibly.

    Our tour started at the Visitor Center.

    Wilderness Trail Visitor Center.
    Wilderness Trail Distillery Visitor Center

    It has to be said that one of the true highlights of the tour was meeting Cooper the distillery cat. He followed us everywhere and was adorably social.

    We saw another cat at Limestone Branch Distillery over in Lebanon. I guess we're big fans of meeting cats while we travel.

    Black and white cat inside visitor center.
    Cooper
    Multiple barrels placed next to chairs in bourbon tasting area.
    Cooper Inside Visitor Center

    Our tour began with a short bourbon overview, which took about five minutes.

    This distillery gets corn and rye from Kentucky and malted barley from Wisconsin.

    In the fermentation room, we saw cookers and fermentation vats.

    Fermenting vat labeled on the side for 20,000-gallon capacity.
    Fermenting Vat

    The liquid resulting from fermentation is called distillers' beer. This goes into the beer wells.

    Tour participant at top of ladder looking down into beer well.
    Deep open tank serving as beer well.
    Beer Well

    The beer wells continuously supply fermented liquid to the column stills.

    For more details on the whole process, check out Fred Minnick's book Bourbon Curious.

    Column still in use during bourbon making process.
    Column Stills

    Wilderness Trail uses a sweet mash, which means it doesn’t re-use its grain. Most distilleries use sour mash, so they do add previously fermented grain to new batches.

    This difference showed up when we got to taste their unaged moonshine, informally known as "white dog." It was a lot sweeter than others I’ve tried, and much less harsh to sample!

    Wilderness Trail Distillery single barrel straight whiskey in bottles.
    Sweet Mash Straight Whiskey

    We also saw a one-of-a-kind spirit safe. Historically, these devices were used by tax agents to gauge the proof of a batch. They're still used in some places to allow operators to analyze their own whiskey.

    The one at Wilderness Trail is the world's first kinetic-powered spirit safe, using only the power of the liquid coming off the still to keep it working.

    It even has a name. Walker Woodfill.

    Distillate flowing out from still.
    World's Only Kinetic-Powered Spirit Safe

    Next we visited the rickhouses. They smelled amazingly good, a mix of oak and whiskey. This was my favorite part of the tour. We learned that Wilderness Trail doesn't rotate their barrels once they're placed.

    Long row of bourbon barrels stacked inside rickhouse.
    Rickhouse

    At the end of the tour, we enjoyed product samples of rye whiskey and wheated whiskey in the tasting room.

    Page displaying mash bills and proof of three bourbon samples.
    Description of Samples
    Trays full of bourbon samples in small cups, with bourbon bottles standing in front.
    Whiskey Samples

    Cooper the distillery cat was on hand to assist.

    Bourbon bottles on wooden tabletop resting on barrels with cat walking nearby.
    Tasting Room

    In the gift shop, not only can you buy bourbon, but there are other craft products like bourbon barrel aged coffee and bourbon and honey soap. It was fun to browse.

    Shelves of bourbon for sale at Wilderness Trail Distillery.
    Bourbon for Sale
    Bourbon and honey soap for sale at Wilderness Trail Distillery.
    Bourbon and Honey Soap
    Package of bourbon barrel aged coffee.
    Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee

    Nearby Eats

    If you're looking for a place to eat before or after your tour, check out Hub Coffee House and Café. There’s a small location near the distillery, or a larger, cuter location with a bookstore in downtown Danville.

    We enjoyed a meal at Parthenon Greek-American Eats. The gyros were fabulous.

    Wilderness Trail was an excellent stop as we continue our Bourbon Trail explorations! If you're planning to visit central Kentucky, consider adding this place to your list.

    More Kentucky Food + Drink Destinations

    • Roadside sign for Red River Rockhouse burgers, burritos and beer with restaurant in background.
      Red River Rockhouse (Campton, KY)
    • Restaurant entrance and sign for Mr Brews Taphouse.
      Mr Brews Taphouse (Lexington, KY)
    • Entrance to Corto Lima, a grey painted building with black awning.
      Corto Lima (Lexington, KY)
    • Indoor dining area with Mirror Twin Brewing Co. stenciled on the wall in decorative script.
      Mirror Twin Brewing (Lexington, KY)

    About Sarah Trenalone

    Sarah is the primary creator at Champagne Tastes. She's a photographer, food writer and traveler, and is certified in Backcountry Kitchen and Backcountry Navigation from the Colorado Outward Bound School and Identifying Wild Plants from Backpacker.

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    Hi, I'm Sarah! I'm a traveler who loves to eat.   Follow along to join me on my next adventure-- in food or on the road.

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