Old Ripy Review

While I'm a huge fan of Wild Turkey whiskeys, their current owner Campari can pretty much fuck right off. I mean sure they still have some really good products like Russell's Reserve Single Barrel but stuff like the current 101 and Rare Breed are mere shells of what they used to be. The more I learn about the decisions there over the years the more I come to the conclusion that they've been sacrificing quality for profits. So along that cash grab mentality, here we have the latest in whiskey innovations from them, a new series dubbed "Whiskey Barons."

✅ Limited Edition 

✅ High Price

✅ Old-timey Marketing

✅ Made up Distillery

Yep, that's about as much fuckery as Diego's Orphan Barrel line. Campari, wut r u doing. Campari, stahp. 

As for this particular product, we know it was made at the Wild Turkey distillery but not under the supervision of Eddie or Jimmy Russell who were apparently too busy at the time. Marketing materials claim it is "12-year-old and younger whiskies" which is a deceiving way of saying it's a no age statement blend. 

No Age Statement

52% ABV

Non Chill Filtered

$70 (MSRP is more like $50), 375ml

Nose: Heat is about right for 104 proof. I'm getting a dose of fruity new make and also that hallmark Wild Turkey rye baking spice bite. I'd guess about 6-8 years old from the nose. Pretty much a proofed down Rare Breed.

Taste: Upfront is a bit of fruity, grainy new make notes. A lot of wood influence starts to take over in the mid-palate and things even start to get a little bitter in the finish with some dark chocolate and tannic oak. The bitterness seems to be drowning out the Wild Turkey spice note that I love. It tastes something like a mix of a more mature Wild Turkey 101 blend and an oakier Rare Breed proofed down a few points.

Thoughts: The first time I tried this was after tasting Decades which is a pretty mature bourbon. That experience left me with an initial impression that this was rather young and not very good. Revisiting it now on its own I'm finding a lot more complexity but I still don't think it's great. It's not bad, probably on par with current Rare Breed which I am not really a fan of and truth be told I probably like regular ol' Wild Turkey 101 more. Taking the price and marketing hype into account, this is pretty lame and I feel rather ripped off. Maybe that's where the idea behind Old Ripy originated.

Rating: C+

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.