Wild Turkey 101 Rye

Watching the Instragram scroll today, a Wild Turkey advert caught my eye. Today is 101 day, right? As in 10/1. It was effective. For a moment, I contemplated heading out to buy a bottle of the 101 bourbon before remembering that I already have a bottle of the 101 Rye opened. And obviously this fits the bill as well. (Plus the remainder of this month's bourbon budget is earmarked for Maker's BRT01 and BRT02, which have both reached the western region of our state but haven't quite gotten to the eastern shores yet. They'll get here, however, and when they do, that's what I have my money on. So, the 101 bourbon doesn't fit the budget.) Which is fine. I like the 101 bourbon just fine, but I think I've only ever bought it in the 1.75 L size. Why is that? Well, because it's a budget bourbon you're generally drinking on ice or as a mixer. It's fine on its own, but that's it: fine. I'd likely give it a quarter star less than the 101 rye, and if I have the choice, in that price range, I go for Old Tub. But that can also be simply because I like rye more than I like bourbon. Now the Rare Breed Rye, at $60, is awesome, and I actually picked up another bottle of that earlier this month when I saw it was back in stock. This is the toned down version of that, the baby brother. Much of the scents and aromas are the same, only a tad bit muted. The nose is rich with rye spice and a hint of mint and eucalyptus. On the palate you get the bergamot with some caramel coming through, and the finish, while not necessarily long like the Rare Breed is still tangy and peppery. At $22.99 on sale, this is a good choice much in the same way the 101 bourbon is a good choice. Not bad for a mixer or on ice and acceptable as a sipper. Now have at it with the 101 today. Now that I mention it, I know that a lot of you are going to want to. Wow, is that the shortest review I've written yet? It just might be...

I got this bottle for $26.99 at Kelly Liquors. It's 101 proof, of course. I found two mash bills online, one showing 51% rye, 37% corn, and 12% barley, and another which was 52/36/12. Only one site gave the latter mash bill, and so I'm inclined to think the first one is the correct one. Either way, this is a barely legal rye. There's no age statement on the bottle, and in the glass it's the color of old copper. 𝗡𝗢𝗦𝗘: This was a unique nose, not something you'd expect from something with such a low rye content. I got orange marmalade first off, something I've never gotten from any other whisky. As I continued to nose the stuff the mineral and vegetal notes that for me are standard with rye whisky came in and mixed with the marmalade. That's all I got, so it's a simple nose, but a delightful one. 𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟: Smooth. 𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘: On the palate I got honey first of all, and the orange marmalade came through. Later on red pepper and cinnamon showed up. The palate isn't complex either, but again, it's delightful. This stuff tastes good. 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛: The finish is medium in length, with notes of oak, orange marmalade again, and red pepper. 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬: This is a pretty whisky - considerably better than I'd expect from a barely legal rye. It's not like anything else I've ever had, and I'll buy it again. 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: With 1 at the bottom and 8 at the top of my hick scale, I give this whisky a 6, Fine. That's equal to 3.75 stars, 75/100, or 7.5/10.

When it comes to American whiskey, I tend to lean towards bourbon if I'm drinking neat and rye if I'm having a cocktail. I'm not exactly sure why, since most rye whiskies I seem to like neat, but it just seems to work that way. Maybe I prefer to not be challenged when I'm drinking a spirit neat, since I tend to find rye whiskies more complex than bourbon. Wild Turkey is probably best known for their bourbon, especially between the rye 101 and the bourbon 101, but I think I may favor the rye 101 better. The nose features honey, mint and a touch of oak. On the palate I get baked apples, caramel and some spice, but it's pretty tame. It's actually creamy and very easy to drink. The finish has a bit of pepper and sweetness, but considering the proof there is very little burn. I was pretty impressed with this. Out of the six rye whiskies I've reviewed so far, only the Whistlepig 10yr beat this neat. This is slightly better than the Rittenhouse rye, but not by much. Either way, it's a very solid value and considering it's pretty useful in cocktails, it's a very good rye to have on hand. I would probably still favor the Rittenhouse rye because it's the best cocktail rye whiskey out there and almost the same experience neat (and cheaper), but you can't go wrong with this or that one.

A sweet, oily rye. I get rye grain and a bit of licorice on the nose. It's got a sweet and spicy scent. It's got grassy, herby, rye flavor, some moderate spice, which is balanced by a sweet syrupy body. It's not too hot. It's got some heat - I get ground ginger or black pepper. It's got an herbal somewhat astringent finish. It's a very competent rye for the $20-30 price range. It's better than most entrants in this range and better than a fair number that are 2-3x this price, provided that you like heavier ryes. I think I prefer it to Russell's Reserve rye, but not Russell's Reserve single barrel. It's definitely hotter, but not as sophisticated. Rare Breed rye blows it out of the water, but it does that with most things under $100.

Neat, cocktail Nose blends caramel and spice nicely. Palette is dominated by rye with a short cinnamon finish. A great mixer. In a blind with all my other ryes, this came in second place besting out some heavy hitters. I am forced to revisit because of this. The nose has more of a chocolate malt note that I tend to associate with great rye whiskey. It is followed up by the unique floral musk of a summer time bloom. The palette is heavy and viscous. Hitting the whole mouth with chocolate mint and the lightest of oak tannins. The finsh stays on the tip of the tongue while the malt note that has been with us from the start dries in the throat. Leaving a final goodbye of floral sweetness and that cinnamon I first detected.

Nose: Sweet butterscotch, lemon zest, and barrel char mix nicely with baking spices and mint Palate: Medium viscosity. Cohesive with the nose, again comes butterscotch, lemon zest, and barrel char. The rye kicks in harder here with some wonderful black pepper, mint, and almond. Finish: Medium in length. Oaky char and spicy black pepper. Summary: Wild Turkey shows why they are at the top of budget friendly pours at a nice proof. A lovely sip from start to end that also makes my favorite Old Fashioned.