When I bought my first bottle of WT 101 several years ago, I never would have guessed that Wild Turkey would be such a staple in my whiskey collection. In fact, I now own five different offerings from Wild Turkey and for unique reasons, I love each and every one of them.
In fact, I remember a time when Wild Turkey 101 was considered low quality bourbon and now it has a permanent home on many aficionados shelves.
As I said, I currently have a bottle of it on my shelf. I also have a bottle of Wild Turkey Longbranch that I love. It is a fantastic bourbon in the ~$30 price range. More recently, I picked up a bottle of the Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon. This was my first introduction to a barrel strength whiskey and it didn't disappoint.
After that, I sourced a bottle of the Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit from a friend who works at a liquor store and it has been equally enjoyable.
Thus, it was pretty much a given that I would pick up this bottle of Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye when I saw it at our local Costco. I think I paid about $60 for the bottle and I have since seen articles recommending it and listing the retail price at about $90. Seems as though I got a good deal!
Like the Rare Breed Bourbon, this is a barrel proof whiskey. It clocks in at a whopping 112 proof which means it is about 56.1% alcohol. That equals a whiskey that goes down pretty hot.
I didn't get a picture, but I took my first sips neat from a Glencairn glass so I could really get a feel for the liquid. It went down really nicely and despite the initial burn, it had a fantastic finish that I have come to expect from Wild Turkey products.
There were the definite spice notes you get with a rye, but it also had hits of smoke and a nice caramel flavor that coated your mouth.
I had my second dram in a rocks glass with a single large ice cube. I found that a bit more enjoyable than neat, especially given the fact that this is a barrel proof whiskey.
I have to admit(and I don't know if it is good or bad) that I am getting better at handling whiskey's at this level of proof. I remember a short time ago when I tried my first barrel proof and I almost choked it hit me so hard. That wasn't the case here and I don't expect it to be the case in the future.
I do make a point of drinking fewer drinks in a sitting when I know I am going to be drinking higher proof whiskey. It just makes sense. I don't like the idea of getting crazy and being worthless the next day...
Snagging this bottle closes the door on most of the mid level offerings that Wild Turkey has. They do have a line called "Master's Keep" that I would like to try some day, but I have a feeling the price is going to keep those out of my hands for quite some time. Especially since the majority of those offerings are aged 10 to 17 years.
Actually, the state of Michigan has their liquor book right online, so you can see what the base, licensee and minimum shelf price is of anything that is available in the state. Wild Turkey Master's Keep Toasted Oak has a base price of $160 per bottle. Definitely not something I will be picking up anytime soon.
If you like Rye whiskey's and you happen to come across a bottle of Rare Breed Rye in the $60 to $70 price range, I highly recommend you pick up a bottle. You likely won't be disappointed. It is some really good juice!
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I love a good whiskey or bourbon! The only tough part for me is that it gives me weird ass dreams lol so I don’t drink it as much as I would like. I end up sleeping like shit!
I don’t think I’ve tried wild turkey yet, but I know the brand. A lot of people have come to like it so that’s good. Don’t know when I’ll be buying more, maybe for the holidays but I’ll give this a try!
Oh my! I would be in a lot of trouble if whiskey gave me weird dreams! I think I would take the punishment though! Wild Turkey is making some great stuff these days!
That does look like a good one to add to the collection.
I must admit that I am not a very good Canadian II the whisky department. There are so many good Canadian rye whiskies but I have none in my collection.
I strayed to scotch, more recently I bourbon, and just added a bottle of nice tequila.
Now that my palate has evolved, I will have to try another rye and will keep an eye out for this one!
If you are looking for something at a decent price I recommend Michter's Rye. Right around $40 for a bottle here in Michigan. I am trying to get into more scotches and Irish whiskys. I haven't had many Canadian offerings besides Caribou Crossing.
Yah man Crown Royal is the standard and I also enjoy Royal Reserve and even Forty Creek.
This sounds phenomenal. I love a good rye. I just finished a bottle of Red Breast (which was EXCELLENT) and bought a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label and I'm enjoying that too.
I have heard that red breast is a really solid Irish whiskey. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly encourage you to try writers tears double oak. It is a phenomenal Irish whiskey and very appropriate given your profession. While not as sweets the rye whiskeys are very appealing to me.
I need to check out some of your US whiskeys some time. Not sure if they work out much more expensive here. The taxes can whack the price up. I shall have a look next time I'm shopping.
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They are pretty decent. If you like the smoky scotches, you might like bourbon versus whiskey. I will be interested to see what you can find over there. If you want, take a picture of the shelf and send it to me in discord and I can tell you what I would pick.
Hubby had WT101 over the weekend with my brother in law. It was the normal one but he was very impressed with it.
WT101 is a fantastic juice. They have a WT101 Rye that I want to try as well. I haven't seen it in my go-to store yet.
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