By
George Brozowski
Go
figure, another new Wild turkey just trotted across
my desk, Wild Turkey 81. What are those good old boys in Lawrenceburg
Kentucky doing anyway? They already have a hand full of Bourbons
ranging in price from $30.00 all the way up to $100.00 and
now they have whipped one up retailing for an astonishingly
low $19.99, Wassup with that?
As
I'm sure you already know if you're a bourbon fan their stuff
rocks. It is all made from limestone filtered water and corn,
barley and rye and magically fermented with their own yeast
that they absolutely refuse to speak about. They then distill
all this to low proof so they don't have to dilute it down
to achieve the desired final proof. Then some is aged oak
for 6 years while others 7, 8 and 10 with the great grandaddy
of them all coming in around 14 years. Some are small batch;
others single barrel and the rest a blend of the best.
So
why Wild Turkey 81? As Eddie Russel, who whipped up this hooch
explains, Wild Turkey had a lot of great sippin' whiskey but
didn't have a good mixin' whiskey. Now I get this philosophy
right off. When it comes to other spirits like vodka and cognac
I usually keep the high end super premium stuff for sipping
straight and would never even consider making a mixed drink
with it. For that I keep some less expensive stuff around
since all the other ingredients will generally dilute the
taste and diluting the taste of a $100.00 bottle of anything
just plain and simple goes against my religion.
So
Eddie, wanting to get the full flavor of Wild Turkey in his
mixed drinks, used blended whiskies aged in deeply charred
American Oak casks of 6, 7 and 8 years. Well let's see how
he did. The nose is mild but filled with caramel and vanilla
and a touch of toffee and definitely has that air of bourbon
and oak. Ya done good Eddie, it sits upon the pallet with
a pleasing warmth and exudes that blended bourbon taste along
with the vanilla and caramel. The oak becomes a bit more pronounced
and steps forward. The finish is bright and moderate in length
but very smooth. It really keeps its character in a Manhattan
as well as an old fashioned and the flavor just doesn't get
watered down or taste diluted at all, it's a perfect mixer.
What a treat to be able to have bourbon for sippin' and bourbon
for mixin' and stay within the same brand.
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here.
http://www.wildturkey.com/