Wild Turkey Rye

Rating: 11/23 I've found the Wild Turkey 101 and Rare Breed to be great VFM and I quite enjoyed the Master's Keep Revival (though it was definitely not as good VFM), so I'm looking forward to trying my first Wild Turkey Rye. N: Rye spice, some grain, apple, a hint of something floral, and maybe a hair of smoke or something. It's not excissively light but not particularly rich either. Nothing unusual or complex here. It doesn't come across as an interesting blend or finish or substantially aged or anything like that, but it smells serviceable. I'm kind of disappointed already since Wild Turkey stands out as a high rye bourbon, so it seems like their rye should be really good. Maybe its just their bold choice to include so much rye that makes their bourbon so effective. P: Now for the moment of truth. I get pepper, cinnamon, rich sweet grain, a little bit of apple, and something a bit floral that doesn't quite fit along with a faint dash of smoke or char and some kind of artificial mineral flavor. It's all fairly jumbled together though. It isn't rich like Rittenhouse or Pikesville, but it isn't spicy and herbal with a funky edginess like WhistlePig PiggyBack either. It's just very bland. I mean, I can get some flavors out of this, but there's nothing really great and something just a bit off in this floral bitter way. Maybe the floral and smoke flavors are interacting badly to produce that artificial mineral flavor or something. F: The finish emphasizes the discordant element a bit more, unfortunately. It isn't really a pleasant finish and that's the major failing here. It's too bad because there's a solid rye at the heart of this. I'm pretty disappointed in this. It would be fine as a mixer, but it costs the same amount as Rittenhouse which is bolder and has a 25% higher ABV. For sipping, there are much more interesting and balanced ryes. Even Templeton Rye 4, which I have not been a fan of, has some clean floral notes despite its lightness. The flavors in Templeton Rye 4 are slightly more distinct and slightly better executed, so I give it a tiny edge, but I'd say that these two are of similar quality. I'm thinking 10-12 for this one, so I'll give it an 11 for now. It could be that the artificial mineral and char flavors I'm getting are what the distiller reviewer attributes to honey, in which case I might like them better on a subsequent tasting, but for now I need to go with what I've experienced so far.

Rating: 10/23 I threw this into a bunch of mixed drinks in order to get rid of the bottle as quickly as possible, but even that didn't work too well. Finally, I'm on to my bottle kill tasting. N: Rye with a bit of meat. It doesn't smell like a super young rye, but I suspect that's because low amount of rye is masked by the other grains. I get a bit of mint and floor polish. Not much going on here and it doesn't smell really good either. P: Like the nose, this is pretty flat. I get some herbal and vegetal flavors from the rye. It tastes a little bit young, but not too bad. It's actually a bit better than when I first tried it so it could either be just a different palate or maybe the air was good for this. I do get a bit of meatiness from the alcohol though, and a bit of minerality further increasing the lightness. So there's a bit more complexity than before, but it's still flat and bland with some off notes. F: The off notes of alcohol and meat linger, along with a faint hybrid of mineral and floor polish. There are faint herbal notes, but not too much. This is probably the worst part of the experience. This is still a really disappointing rye. It didn't even make a great mixer because it is fairly light. At its best, there are genuine flavors that make me consider giving it a 12, but I often find myself thinking of it in 10 or even 9 territory because of the off notes. At least it isn't harsh though. I think I'm going to settle on a 10 to 11 because it isn't all that bad, but I really would rather not ever drink it. It might be comparable in quality to Ezra Brooks, but that's as generous as I think I can be. I think I'm going to go with a 10 this time I would consider raising it up to an 11 if I ever tried it again (but I hope I won't).

Striking out on my search for Master's Keep, I decided to pick up one of the final Turkey offerings I have left to try. Turkey Rye, how good(or bad) is it? Ding Ding.. that bell ringing was the answer to me wondering if this would remind of the Russell's 6 year I put away not that long ago, and yes it certainly does! On the nose we get fresh cut lemon with some saw grass greeness, dill and mint. Yes along with the ethanol that does add up to a bit of the "furniture polish" smell that offends some. This one drinks like it smells, front is rye spice and lemon pepper, it leads straight into the hard hitting ethyl and dry grassy middle finish, while maybe a bit on the young side it really doesn't act up all that much, a bit of gritty rye bread sweetness unveils through the middle and more of a fade to black finish than anything else follows. While it's nothing impressive it's also not all that bad, coming in at the bottom of the straight rye price points, it compares easily in cost to the considerably sweeter, JD and Crown ryes. Just hints of the bubble gum sugars and honey, this is a nice compromise between a 95/5 and the sweet high corn ryes. I'd imagine some would prefer this as a cocktail base rather than straight drinker considering it's lack of refinement. Still Turkey Rye has some of the character of some of the far pricier ryes, that folks pay through the nose for, proving that even as one of Wild Turkey's lesser products they continue to be one of the more capable distilleries going. Cheers!

After an extensive flight of high-end whiskies, I figured that it was time to come back down to earth and recalibrate my senses. I bought Wild Turkey Rye as a mixer, but let's give it a try neat. On the nose, canned peaches, orange blossom and coriander appear, accompanied by mild spices. Sweet and slightly spirity, the palate kicks off with loads of cinnamon. Red apples, honey and a touch of bubble gum emerge. The medium finish fades with brown sugar, cloves and spicy hints of dry oak. Not bad at all, I actually refrained from pouring it into coke. RATING: 3.4/5.0 stars ≙ 82 pts → ABOVE AVERAGE [-]

Knowing this was bottom shelf, generic rye, I was still looking forward to try it because of my love for ryes that keep growing. To be honest, I’ve only tried a few of the WT offerings. Trying this neat, the nose wasn’t complex with a ton of flavors. It was simple, caramel/vanilla, and pleasant. The palate was easy to drink and the sweetness continued to a short, fast finish. Overall, this wasn’t bad at all. What I will try next is making an old fashioned with this. I bet that could be delicious.

N: Butterscotch, toffee, caramel, and a medicinal sort of ethanol. P: Sweet and spicy. Butterscotch again with bread pudding made with a hearty dark bread. Rye and anise spice starts as a general flavor, then continues into the finish. Finish is also tannic and woodsy, slightly bitter, a bit stinging (ethanol), but generally pleasant. Nothing off in it. Nothing spectacular either. Easy drinking, great value.