Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon

So the wife was supposed to pick up WT101 and accidentally grabbed the 81 proof version instead. Ooops! But hey, it’s an excuse for a review, right? Nose is…not good. Strange earthiness, with a very faint hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Also a bit of nail polish remover, orange peel, and mineral water which I’m very confused by but it’s there. Palate is better than the nose would indicate. That said it’s just so…bland. Sweet corn, mild vanilla, and cinnamon. And that’s literally it. No mid-palate whatsoever. Flavors are so rounded that I could just say “tastes like whiskey” and still be accurate. Not a compliment. Things don’t get better in the finish; short with more cinnamon, a hint of oak, and art class paste. Black pepper note lingers. Mouthfeel is actually not terrible; light bodied and airy but also a bit creamy and it’s by far the best part of this whiskey. Wow I expected this to be just watered down 101, but it’s a totally different (and much much worse) bourbon. What is the market for this? Why wouldn’t you just drink 101? At $19.99, it’s still an epic fail. Dammit woman! Check the label next time, will ya?

In another installment of reviews of swill I got for free - Wild Turkey! There's got to be some sub $20 bourbon gems out there. The hunt continues for one.... Vanilla, caramel and spicy rye mingle with corn and some rather tannic oak on the nose. The palate opens slightly sweet before booming full force with spice. Although low proof, the astringency of this bourbon prickles your tongue. Charred sugar with vanilla offers a very soft sweet backdrop and as the taste transitions to finish there's an odd musty candy corn quality about it. Surprisingly, the mouth feel is oily and rich. Not sure how they did it with such low proof, but that is a positive about this bourbon. The finish is pretty quick though. It gets very rye spicy and leaves your tongue feeling tingly from the middle out. For such a budget bourbon it's really not bad but I think my favorite in this space still has to be Maker's Mark.

Nez bien boisé avec quelques traces noircie mais passablement doux si on le compare à d'autres bourbon d'entrée de gamme similaire, poire et pêche ayant baignés dans le sirop, caramel assez frais, maïs mielleux, un côté vin rouge même, seigle, épices avec un effet menthol . En bouche, maïs très doux, salade de fruits du commerce avec cerise, bois vanillé aucunement corsé, faibles présence d'alcool, miel doux et épices qui le sont tout autant. Finale plutôt ordinaire où seul le bois et l'alcool sec se font sentir. Texture un peu aqueuse qui prend un peu de tonus par la suite mais sans plus. Un bon bourbon à faire découvrir à ceux qui débutent sinon, ça va finir en cocktails et sauce pour mes ribs fumés

First things first... How on earth is the Distiller score for this 2 points higher than the WT 101?!?!? Had dinner this evening at a British Pub, and asked for their whiskey list. Much to my surprise, they didn't have a lot. This was the only bourbon they had, so I figured what the hell... This is no Rare Breed or 101. Those two are fantastic. But this is not bad... not bad at all. For a cheap pour, it surprised me. I always thought of Wild Turkey as stuff that only drunkards drink. LOL. But for the price, this is respectable stuff. Just enough "sweet" and "smokey" to get the job done. Am I going to buy a bottle? Nope! Will I drink it again? Yup!

Blind taste test. Color - very light yellow Nose- rye spice overpowers, mint, young youthful green scents Taste - surprisingly not the amount of rye spice predicted by the smell. Kind of watery with caramel, vanilla and popcorn. A bit of spice at the end, but there’s a big “hole” in flavor between the beginning sweetness and the end spice.

A very nice mild bourbon. Perfect introduction bourbon. Mildly spicy, peach, orange, vanilla flavor neat. Water or ice removed all of the flavors. Rich, nixe weight mouthful. Amazing for such a low proof. Ya gotta keep this one around, especially at this price point. One of the best bottom to mid-shelf bourbon's out their. Cheers!