Wild Turkey Straight Bourbon

ABC - $22.99 

TW - $19.99

Class VI - $43.69 (for 1.75l)

ABV - 40.5%

NAS - “Up to five to eight years” (an odd way to put it)

Char - #4 ‘Alligator Char’

Mashbill - 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Barley

Thanks to the Bourbonr blog

30 Jun 25

Wild Turkey Straight Bourbon

From the ABC website:  Wild Turkey 81 is an 81 proof (40.5% alcohol) bourbon aged 6-8 years, longer than any other bourbon in its class. To give it that signature kick, Eddie Russell uses the classic Wild Turkey high-rye mash bill and ages it in their famous #4 alligator char American oak barrels. 81 shines on its own, but it's best in a mixed drink like a Manhattan or Old Fashioned.

Come on, we all know how the whiskey evolution goes: You’ve had enough of beer’s watery lies and decide it's time to graduate to something stronger.  Something that you think could probably remove paint from a car hood: whiskey.

So there you are, standing in the liquor store aisle like an audacious gambler, scanning the amber sea of glass bottles. Your eyes lock on the budget hero: Jim Beam, a fine specimen of bottom-shelf glory at a tempting $17.99. You've heard of it. , so that’s what you grab and hope you don’t get carded.  With bottle in hand and false bravado on your face, you stride up to the cashier. You don’t get carded. Victory! You’re basically an adult now (without the expected common sense)

Slink out to the car furtively looking back and forth to see if any of your parent’s friends might notice you.  Your partner-in-crime is impatiently waiting wondering if he will be forced to get bail money in case the worst happens.  Together, you head off to your not-so-clandestine forest rendezvous point - probably used by your father a generation ago.

One guy shows up cradling a case of National Bohemian like it’s fine champagne ($22.99) and another buddy arrives with a six-pack of Moosehead which costs more than the Beam and Natty Boh combined (he was never good at the economics of alcohol).  Then, just as you're deep into your drunken debauchery, someone shows up with fireworks — because nothing says "keep it low-key" like launching explosives — promptly inviting the attention of law enforcement officers within a five-mile radius. (brilliant).  

One Moosehead in, and someone proposes a traditional bonding ritual: shotgunning the Natties. Soon you're drenched in cheap beer and overconfidence. Then, another guy yells, “OPEN THE BEAM!”

It’s your moment. Your bottle. Your legacy. You unscrew the cap, summon your courage, and take a big ol’ swig… And instantly regret every life decision that led to this moment.

Just as the first gulp gets half-way down your throat you realize that it burns.  It burns!  IT BURNS!!  And before you can stop it, a fine mist of Jim Beam (and your pride) comes spewing from your mouth — right into the face of the poor soul standing across from you. He will never forget this. Neither will your friends, who are now rolling on the ground, howling with laughter.

Welcome to whiskey, my friend.

So goes your first foray into whiskey or hard liquor.  On subsequent meetings you realize that there’s something that will work even faster - Wild Turkey 101!  Why buy something that’s only 40% alcohol?  Wild Turkey is fifty percent alcohol.  

“Fifty percent?!  That’s almost half!” 

And so the drunken buffoonery continues — booze-fueled, and one terrible decision after another. That is, until life smacks you in the ass, like after the birth of your first child. Suddenly, whiskey-induced hangovers and 3 a.m. bedtimes are no match for a baby who cares nothing for your regrets—only that his diaper is full and his bottle is empty.

Then one day you decide to grow up a little.  You don’t want the hangovers (or the liver damage), you just want to enjoy some whiskey.  That’s where the Wild Turkey Straight Bourbon Whiskey comes in.  It’s at a lower proof so it’s more approachable.  In fact, if you handed me a pour of 101 these days, I’d add some water or an ice cube to cut down on the alcohol.  A high proof whisk(e)y can get in the way of the flavor (although there are plenty of enthusiasts who like their juice straight out of the barrel).  

The Wild Turkey line is a ‘high rye whiskey’ and as we can see from the mashbill, it’s got a good amount of malted barley too.  As we learned last week, the barley helps with fermentation and also adds some enjoyable flavors to the final product.  High rye bourbons aren’t for everyone and many don’t prefer them for sipping.  I enjoy a high rye whiskey, but I can see why others wouldn’t.  They do, however, make excellent mixers.  If you’re making bourbon cocktails, the Wild Turkey 81% or 101% bourbons are perfect for your old fashioned or manhattan. 

If you’re just getting into whiskey tasting, I recommend getting a bottle of Wild Turkey and a bottle of a wheated bourbon like Maker’s Mark or Larceny and comparing the two.  You can find mini bottles of all three at a good liquor store or ABC - an inexpensive tasting for sure.  That’s a great way to get experience with the two major types of bourbon - high rye or wheated.  Чазамыктаар!

PAPER PLANE

A little bitter, a little sweet, and very refreshing, this modern classic cocktail recipe is a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients

3/4 part Wild Turkey® 81 Bourbon

3/4 part fresh squeezed lemon juice

3/4 part Averna Amaro

3/4 part Aperol®

Instructions

Add all ingredients to shaker with ice.

Shake, and strain into rocks glass.

Garnish with lemon wheel.

This is how you make the the Paper Plane cocktail.