Wilderness Trails COWS Pick

Review by Jeff LaCroix | Central Ohio Whiskey Society | March, 2025

Have you ever had a beverage that brings you back to your childhood? Unique things that bring us back are special.  I’d like to introduce something that fits that bill… Cow Tales by Wilderness Trail.  After going back and forth with the group over which of the 4 barrels we were picking from with no true winner, Wilderness Trail delivered a knockout 5th choice that was the unanimous pick of the team.

Barreled in an Independent Stave Char 4 barrel and resting for five years and 10 months in Rickhouse A, this 107.78 proof pour immediately made me think of the caramel and sugar confection, the Cow Tale… perfectly fitting for this group.

  • The Nose starts with ethanol, fitting for this overproof bourbon.  It then moves into vanilla and butterscotch with only mild oaky notes at the very end of the nose.
  • The Taste is an immediate caramel and confectioners sugar blast with nougat, vanilla, and toasted marshmallow at the forefront as it lingers on the tongue for an appreciably long time.
  • The Finish is again more confectioners sugar with burnt vanilla caramel and hints of oak… with no discernable bite but a nice finish.  It drinks well below its proof.