We sat down with Dr Pat Heist to learn more about Wilderness Trail Distillery, the whiskeys they create, and how they came to strike a $600 million USD partnership with Campari
Wilderness Trail Distillery makes Kentucky whiskey. It gets its name from a historic part of the state that dates back to its founding by Daniel Boone, its founders met at the University of Kentucky (both of their families have histories in the American whiskey industry), and, well, the whiskey comes straight from the Bluegrass State. But what makes one whiskey better than another? Is it simply a matter of taste or is there some sort of scientific methodology that can be looked to?
From their use of sweet mash to knowledge of yeast and empirical approach, Wilderness Trail Distillery founders Dr Pat Heist and Shane Baker put their money on science, and the results have been undeniably impressive. In less than ten years, Heist and Baker turned Wilderness Trail into one of America’s top whiskey brands, and in 2022, Campari purchased 70% of Wilderness Trail for $420 million.
We sat down with Dr Pat Heist to learn more about Wilderness Trail Distillery and find out how they became one of whiskey’s biggest success stories…
Spirited: You were in a rock band and then suddenly you’re making bourbon. Why did you want to get into the bourbon business?
Dr Pat Heist: When Shane and I met at the University of Kentucky, we quickly bonded over music and played in a rock band together called Fulcrum. We also happen to be two of the biggest bourbon enthusiasts in the world. We started as business partners when we founded our first company, Ferm Solutions, and we eventually decided that we wanted to use our combined skill set – and the wealth of knowledge we’d gained through that work – to create our own whiskey that lived up to our incredibly high standards.
Spirited: Can you tell me about your backgrounds in science and these yeast strains that helped launch Wilderness Trail?
PH: I have a PhD in Plant Pathology and Shane has a degree in Mechanical Engineering. We used our combined expertise to start Ferm Solutions, a one-stop shop fermentation consulting company. It was through that venture that we had a unique opportunity to visit, experience, guide and build countless distilleries and other fermentation-centric operations. These ranged from small and scrappy startups to large-scale and elite producers across industries – from whiskey and other dark spirits, to beer, wine and beyond. Then in 2013, we took inspiration from the best processes and practices and optimized each step with our own expertise to found Wilderness Trail Distillery.
Spirited: You seem to have Kentucky bluegrass in your blood and Shane’s grandparents met while working at Kentucky River Distillery. How does your family history and that tradition impact the whiskey you make today?
PH: Yes, Shane and I are both from Kentucky, so paying homage to our roots was important. It ultimately helped inspire the name of the brand, which is a reference to Kentucky’s Wilderness Trace District which sits on a historic part of the state, dating back to its founding by Daniel Boone.
When it comes to family history and whiskey distilling, I think a lot of Kentuckians are connected in one way or another. My great grandfather worked at the old Seagrams distillery (what is now MGP) in Lawrenceville, Indiana. But Shane’s family history with bourbon is on another level. His grandmother Doris Ballard was a life long employee with multiple distilleries that culminated in her being Controller of the famed Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, KY. Stitzel-Weller made some of the most iconic brands in Bourbon such as W.L.Weller, Old Fitzgerald and the Pappy Van Winkle series, to name just a few. His grandfather also worked there and he has had several other relatives in the business over the years.
Spirited: What’s the difference between Sweet Mash and Sour Mash? And why do you use Sweet Mash, when most American distilleries use Sour Mash?
PH: One of Wilderness Trail’s biggest differentiators is our implementation of a sweet mash fermentation process. Sweet mash simply involves mixing the milled grains with fresh cook water in the cooking process to make the mash.
In contrast, the sour mash process includes an extra step of displacing a percentage of the cook water with the liquid left over from a previous distillation (this liquid is called backset). One of the primary benefits of sour mashing is that by adding backset and acidifying the mash (which lowers the pH), it reduces the potential for contamination of that batch by outside bacteria and/or yeast. This is especially important in older facilties, where historic materials and methods are used (wooden fermenters, for example).Our Ferm Solutions company is one of the few options available to distilleries for solving serious contamination issues, and we have studied this phenomena for years – what bacteria were involved, what caused the issues and how the problem was solved. In fact, we have a collection of over 200,000 bacteria isolated from distilleries all over the world.
However, being experts in microbial contamination with a deeper understanding of the process, we were able to construct a state-of-the-art facility where acidifcation is not necessary. This allows us to successfully run a sweet mash process, which lends to a very different mouthfeel and texture than the more common sour mash whiskies. I was visiting a liquor store recently that called out a few Wilderness Trail barrel picks as “dangerously drinkable,” and that’s a good way to describe it.
Spirited: If Sweet Mash offers so many positives, why don’t more distilleries use it?
PH: As outlined above, sweet mash requires stricter cleaning and fermentation standards to avoid contamination and maintain consistency, which is one of the most crucial factors for a high quality final product. Sour mashing is something that has withstood the test of time – and it makes great whiskey, which is probably why most distilleries use that process. At Wilderness Trail, our intentions are to showcase alternatives to what has been done historically, with our eyes on improvement and innovation. Sweet mashing is one of the many ways we set ourselves apart.
Another distinction is that your steam is chemical-free because you are the first Kentucky Bourbon distillery to use a clean steam boiler. Why did you choose to go the chemical-free steam route and how does that impact the final product?
When you consider large scale bourbon production, there are two points where steam is directly injected into the process. The first is when the mash is heated, and the second is within the beer column during the first step of distillation. If we are using a boiler that requires chemicals, those chemicals are intermingling not only with our mash, but also the distillate – and despite knowing that there are great whiskies made in distilleries that use boiler chemicals, we’d prefer the “no chemicals” option when given the choice. It’s really just another iron we wrinkled out to polish the process beyond what is traditionally done.
Spirited: To touch on your rye for a moment. It enters the barrel at just above 100 proof, the lowest in Kentucky. What impact does that have and how does it affect the end product?
PH: Because our rye enters the barrel at the lowest entry proof we know of in Kentucky, there’s less dilution required to achieve the final product – and this allows us to retain more flavor and better highlight the color and complexity of the carefully matured distillate. The result is a Kentucky straight rye whiskey that is packed with all the classic flavor components and a long, succulent finish reminiscent of florals and spearmint sweetness.
Spirited: It’s been less than two decades since you started Wilderness Trail. How did things come together so quickly?
PH: Before Shane and I started Wilderness Trail, we already felt very engrained in the world of distilling and brewing PH: because of the work we were doing with our other company, Ferm Solutions. We became experts in this space from years of research, engineering, product development, technical services and process optimization for both the fuel and beverage alcohol industries. So, when we started Wilderness Trail in 2012, it was almost like we had a jump start with our extensive knowledge of the space. Naturally, we were very excited to create our own bourbon, and from there it took off. The growth and success have really been beyond what we could have imagined.
Spirited: What was the most shocking thing you learned during the process of building a bourbon brand from the ground up?
PH: Most people can’t begin to understand what it takes to properly capitalize a distillery while positioning it and accurately forecasting the growth. Two great examples of the considerations involved: proper grain forecasting and barrel forecasting. It isn’t as simple as asking a farmer for a million bushels of grain and they hand it over. Sourcing ingredients can take an entire year of planning. The same goes for growing a distillery that uses one barrel a day to one that needs nearly a full truck load per day. This requires meticulous management and forecasting.
While others fail in this area, our secret weapon is Shane Baker. Shane is extremely detail oriented when it comes to putting together a plan, then properly executing that plan. Getting into this business without having a tight handle on these aspects can be a death sentence for a distillery. Sowith all that in mind, I think the most shocking thing to me is how we have literally been able to achieve the impossible against all odds. It was done with great planning, precision timing, a lot of deep thinking, teamwork and a lot of fun in the process.
Spirited: If you could pinpoint three reasons why Wilderness Trail has been so successful in such a short period of time, what would they be?
PH: A few of the main reasons why I believe our brand has seen such great success in a short period of time include:
- Our strong focus on science and the expertise and knowledge we gained from building Ferm Solutions. Shane and I had the opportunity to see the inner workings of more than 600 distilleries, observing what worked, what didn’t and what ought to be improved – and that eventually led us to want to give it a try ourselves. Adding to that, we have a strong appreciation for bourbon and are naturally obsessed with the industry.
- An outpouring of support from our immediate community in Danville and surrounding areas, the fans we’ve made along the way – either through Ferm Solutions or other endeavors like past students of mine at UK and Pikeville College – and the bourbon industry in general, who have accepted us with open arms. In 2020, Wilderness Trail joined the Kentucky Bourbon Trail as a Heritage member and the official 18th stop on the Trail, which is a true accomplishment that wouldn’t have been possible without the support system we’re so lucky to have.
- And last but certainly not least, our goal of making the best whiskies in the world, which is becoming a reality. You can talk all day long about a brand story or how great something is, but at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding. Our bourbons and rye whiskies not only pass the test, but we get straight A’s – which speaks to our attention to detail and small batch craftmanship. Our Bottled in Bond, small batch whiskeys showcase our dedication to producing the best of the best and, because we care about the quality and consistency of the spirit, customers and fans can count on us to produce top-notch liquid and want to come back for more.
Spirited: Can you tell me anything about the Campari offer and your reactions after receiving it?
PH: We were thrilled about the prospect of a partnership with Campari Group, and we’re excited about our future as part of the portfolio. We have a great team, both at our distillery and at Campari, who are working to ensure Wilderness Trail continues to grow and differentiate itself in the bourbon industry – and as always, our focus remains on making the best whiskey possible and incorporating our innovative mindset and science-minded practices into everything we do at Wilderness Trail.
For more information on Wilderness Trail Distillery, head over to their official website.
