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Old Forester Statesman vs Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Old Forester Statesman and Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, rye-forward classic versus a new-wave, wheat-forward craft style.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Old Forester Statesman | Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | High-Rye Bourbon | Wheated Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | 72% corn, 18% rye, 10% malted barley | 64% corn, 24% wheat, 12% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | 6 years |
| Proof | 95 proof (47.5% ABV) | 100 proof (50% ABV) +5 proof |
| Approx. Price 1 | ~$50 – $55 | ~$45 – $60 |
- US shelf prices as of 2026-10; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Old Forester Statesman
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Old Forester Statesman Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
spice 5/3 spice: Old Forester Statesman 5 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 3 out of 10
nuttiness 2/4 nuttiness: Old Forester Statesman 2 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 4 out of 10
sweetness 8/7 sweetness: Old Forester Statesman 8 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 7 out of 10
fruit 7/6 fruit: Old Forester Statesman 7 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 6 out of 10
heat 4/5 heat: Old Forester Statesman 4 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
oak 5/5 oak: Old Forester Statesman 5 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
The gap between these two is mostly about spice.
- Old Forester Statesman: Old Forester's fruit-forward middle child, first made for a spy movie tie-in. Bright cherry and brown sugar lead, with cocoa and a touch of the house banana note.
- Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond: A sweet-mash, bonded wheated bourbon from a distillery founded by two fermentation scientists, and the technical care shows in how clean it tastes. One of the strongest craft arguments on the shelf.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Old Forester Statesman if you want a bright, cherry-sweet Old Forester that sits between the 100 and 1920 in weight.
- Go with Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond if you want a bonded, sweet-mash wheater from a modern distillery doing genuinely careful work with the texture that comes from skipping chill filtration.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks, old-fashioned (Old Forester Statesman); neat, rocks (Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond).