Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit: Bourbon Review

Just a reminder: Each review will follow the same template, and include a score.  Please enjoy responsibly 🙂

This is the first (and so far, only bottle of Wild Turkey I’ve owned/tried).  I picked it up a couple of years ago, and although I’ve had it a few times on its own, and a few other times in cocktails, I haven’t yet sat down and spent an evening with it. So before the bottle runs out, I figured now is as good a time as ever.

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit

Date Reviewed: November 7, 2019

Atmosphere: in a rocks glass, at home. Just finished watching an episode of Justified, and Walter Goggins portrayal of Boyd Crowder always makes me want to have a sip of some bourbon.

Distillery: Wild Turkey: Austin Nichols Distillery

Mash:  75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley

Age: No Age Statement

Type: Bourbon

ABV%: 50.5%

Price I Paid: $79.99 Canadian

Appearance:  Liquid gold, melted caramel

Nose:  Right off the hop it’s smells good.  Nutmeg, vanilla, brown sugar.  Very faint spices and oak.  Little no no alcohol scents.  Swirling it around in the glass really amplifies the scent.  Brown sugar, vanilla, eggnog, and syrup being poured over pancakes come to life after a few swirls, and I start salivating.

Palate:  The first touch on the tongue is very sweet, but a little bit of heat quickly follows.  This has an extremely thick mouth feel at first, almost like you need to chew the air once it’s done.  Once the initial first sip wears off, the second sip goes down a lot smoother.  It is still really sweet, but this time followed by some spices and no heat.  Hints of Pecans, oak, vanilla and brown sugar come through.

Finish: Smooth, and long.  Spices and oak continue to linger, until you take the inevitable next sip.  No burn/heat, incredibly smooth for a 50.5% bourbon.

Conclusions:  The nose and the finish are what sets this bourbon apart.  I highly recommend you to keep swirling this one around the glass, as it really brings out some wonderful aromas.  It’s a sweet, easy sipper, but the price is a little bit high.  For the same price I’d take Blaton’s over this every time.  That said, if it was on sale I’d gladly buy another bottle.  It’s a real good bourbon, but its priced like an exceptional bourbon.

Overall Score:  84/100

 

Cheers.