As I mentioned in previous posts, I’ve got a huge backlog of samples that I need to work through and a lot of time off so I’m making a push to bang out as many reviews as possible through the end of the year.
The common consensus in the whiskey community is that Wild Turkey has run off the rails in the last 5-10 years. Their core products like 101 and Rare Breed just keep tasting younger every year and on top of that their special edition releases have been kind of a shit show lately. The most notable recent failure is Wild Turkey Diamond from last year that can still be found stinking up store shelves today. Their latest special release Master’s Keep seems to have fared a bit better but given the $160 price tag the quality to price ratio is way out of whack. This is all a shame because there are many who will tell you that the Wild Turkey of 15-20 years ago is really great stuff. It wasn’t until I tried a 1999 batch of Rare Breed that I fully understood the validity of those claims.
With that knowledge in hand, here’s a random sampling of Wild Turkey releases over the past 20 years that I tasted and rated blind.
Wild Turkey 12 Year “Cheesy Gold Foil” (Mid 1980’s Release)
Aged 12 Years; 50.5% ABV; thanks to /u/madgraf for the sample
Nose: Sweet, not overly woody, not overly hot. Lots of classic vanilla and caramel. Smells like a nice middle aged bourbon should.
Taste: Very rich, chewy mouthfeel. Vanilla cake batter. Not as sweet as the nose but still lots of sweet wood sugars. Finishes with just a little spice and some darker chocolate.
Rating: 92/100
Thoughts: This is excellent stuff. Never had a Wild Turkey that was as easy to drink or as good as this before. I believe these are hovering around $300 on the secondary and while I would never pay that I would seriously consider trading for one.
Wild Turkey Tradition (2009 Release)
Aged 14 Years; 50.5% ABV; thanks to @BreakingBourbon for the sample
Nose: Light sweets, a little bit of fruitiness, and a medium to light woodiness.
Taste: More spicy than sweet from the front of the palate all the way to the finish. Upfront there is some caramel which transitions to darker cocoa in the finish. Also in the finish are some older tannic oak notes that I wish were more present but seem to be buried under lots of spice.
Rating: 85/100
Thoughts: Good but a little heavy towards the spice side for me. Still better than any standard Wild Turkey product I can go buy off the shelf right now. I think this retailed for $125-150 which I would not pay even today.
Russell’s Reserve 1998 (2015 Release)
Aged 15 Years; 51.1% ABV; thanks to /u/mfpark for the sample
Nose: Very rich. A range of sweets from light like vanilla custard to dark like molasses. A good amount of oak.
Taste: A changeup from the nose. Oakier, less sweet, and more spicy notes. There is a lot of oak depth there which is giving a nice balance with the sweet and spiciness.
Rating: 88/100
Thoughts: Really good, almost great. A nice combination of sweet, spice, and oak. This bottle currently retails for $250 and while it’s good it is very overpriced. I am glad I did not buy a whole bottle though I will say this is probably better than Master's Keep.
Wild Turkey 101 12 Year (Export bottling)
Aged 12 Years; 50.5% ABV; thanks to /u/HawkI84 for the sample
Nose: Lots of classic vanilla and caramel sweetness. Medium amount of wood notes. Very nice, classic bourbon nose.
Taste: A little sweet, a little spicy, and a little oaky. A nearly perfectly balanced bourbon.
Rating: 90/100
Thoughts: Great stuff. There is no real standout quality other than how well everything fits together. Walks all over any Wild Turkey you can buy off the shelf these days. Why they don’t make this available in the states is beyond me. These can be found online overseas for around $125 and while that’s a touch high I am feeling the urge to order one though the value aspect goes to shit once you factor in shipping.
Wild Turkey Kentucky Legend “Donut Bottle” (Late? 1990’s Release)
Aged ?? Years; 56.1% ABV; thanks to /u/madgraf for the sample
Nose: Darker sweets and some tannic complexity in the form of leather and tobacco. I get the impression it has some decent age to it but it’s not overly oaky.
Taste: Sweet initially then lots and lots of spice. There are some darker sweets in the front and mid palate but once the spice takes hold it dominates all the way through to the finish. Not as much oak as I expected given the nose.
Rating: 89/100
Thoughts: The nose was better than the taste. Takes a small hit for being a bit unbalanced towards the spicy side. Still really good and again better than any Wild Turkey product you can buy off the shelf these days. I think these go for $300-$400 on the secondary and while I liked it a lot I wouldn’t track one down at that valuation.
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