Wild Turkey Forgiven

The same day that I found out that Wild Turkey is releasing their “Unforgotten,” I decided I would review this one—entirely by coincidence. The Unforgotten is an to the discontinued Forgiven, which is a combination blend of a straight bourbon and a straight rye. This concoction is marketed as an accident gone well, hence the name. This was a rare find, so without further ado, I’ll be weighing in on whether or not this error was indeed forgivable. This is from Batch No. 303. Nose: Vanilla and mint. Rye spice and black pepper. Caramel. Fudge. Dusty corn. Peach sweet tea. Clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: More of the peach sweet tea. Baked apple. Vanilla and caramel. Pumpernickel. Coca and tobacco smoke. Walnut, almond, and pistachio. Black licorice. Dried apricot. Rye spice, ginger, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Finish: Pistachio, walnut, vanilla, caramel, and cocoa. Peach sweet tea. Apple slices. Dill, rye spice, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon,and oak. Moderate-length. Despite this being a bourbon-dominant blend, I would say that the rye is equally-present in the flavor. In fact, the rye notes exceed the bourbon ones in the nose. It’s a solid amalgamation of quality whiskey. In terms of VFM, I’d say this is right on the money. I grabbed this several years after it was already discontinued, so $63 was a steal as far as I was concerned at the time. And it met my expectations, so I’d so this was a buy worth the trouble in hindsight. 3.75/5. All is Forgiven. Well done, WT.

2 oz in glen cairn. This was batch 303 (2nd batch). Nose- sugar cookie,vanilla ice cream and cinnamon. There is also honeycrisp apple, and the floral scent of a blossoming fall apple orchard. Palate- absolutely delicious! Somewhat sweet, somwhat sour. The cinnamon stick and vanilla icecream on the nose are on the palate creating a boozy snickerdoodle. Then that delicious honeycrisp apply turns to sour apple green jolly rancher fading into an apple cider-like finish. Finish- smooth finish (shorter with little burn). The finish is not pronounced but transitions from palate to finish and then fades gently. Some may find fault with this as it does not hug or heat you up. I love the gentle transition from sweet bourbon to spicy rye gently and seemlessly which fades like cider. Really well done here! Overall: This is now one of my favorite Wild Turkey expressions. It captures those wonderfully sweet and sassy flavors in Russell's bourbon and adds those spicy, puckery tastes from WT rye and then dovetails them into a wonderful "sweet and sour" sauce! Think Highwest Boureye...but better. The proof is perfect as it is not too hot, or too timid, but just right. Reminds me of the old reeses peanut butter cup commercial- "you put your chocolate into my peanut butter! "No, you put your peanut butter into my chocolate." Everybody wins, and an incredibly tasty creation is born here.

Today I found a very dusty old bottle of this in a very small shop in New York City. It looks to be from 2013. This is batch 303 (somehow it’s really just the 2nd of 2 batches). Forgiven has been discontinued for a while now, so let’s see what this extinct product is like. The nose has that signature Wild Turkey funk (empty dusty peanut can), dusty rye, charred oak, mint, red ripe apples, maple syrup, fresh bread, and slight bubble gum. The palate has a lighter mouthfeel to it and a little spicy. I get rye, peanut can, vanilla, barrel char, and shoe leather. The finish is nice and on the longer since of medium. There is some subtle vanilla/marshmallow notes along with rye/mint that hang out on the finish. This is a nice change up from other Wild Turkey products that I have come to love. It’s very easy to drink. It’s definitely in the same family, but adds some a little more rye than the others do (aside from WT Rye, or 101 Rye).

I didn't realize what this was when I first sipped it, expecting a variation on the distillery's bourbon. To my surprise, this tasted like a rye; in fact, more like a rye than Wild Turkey 101 Rye, which has more of a chameleon quality to its flavor. Then I googled it and found out that this is a blend of bourbon and rye, along the lines of other maverick whiskies like High West's well-regarded Bourye. To be honest, I thought this one was a little boring mostly because the bourbon is getting its ass kicked in this blend. Sure, there's a little vanilla and cherry that's more reminiscent of bourbon in the nose and at times in the palate, but this reads like a rye: heavy on the spice, dill, and sesame seed. Perhaps because I was signing up for a more bourbon-like experience, this one left me a little cold.

If this was legitimately the product of a distillery screw up, then we have a prime example here of Bob Ross' philosophy that there are no mistakes, only "happy little accidents." This is the best Wild Turkey product I've had the pleasure to taste. The nose is invitingly fruity - cherry and navel orange - with the right amount of caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, nuttiness, and spice. This is like dessert in a glass, but it's never cloyingly sweet, either. The palate is rich and expressive, just oozing goodness like pecan pie and ice cream sundaes, with enough spice to stay intriguing. They can forget to change the hose down at Wild Turkey every day and I'd be OK with that if this is the end result.

I get hints of caramel and cinnamon on the nose, with a body that’s similar to Russell’s Reserve insofar as that it has an unpleasant industrial flavor. Unlike Russel’s Reserve, the fig and cinnamon flavors balance it out in a pleasant way. Cinnamon flavor carries through to the finish. It’s Autumn themes in my mouth, and I like this one. Dear Wild Turkey: I said some shit about Russell’s Reserve 10 year. I am not sorry. However, after seeing this improvement to a similar flavor, you are... FORGIVEN.