Wild Turkey American Honey

Rating: 14/23 This is sweeter and richer than Yukon Jack with more orange to its citrus and less harshness as well as more floral and mineral complexity. In short: this is a hell of a lot better. There's a hint of tangerine and maybe I get some richness was from the honey that can convince me it isn't just whiskey with some sort of sweetened. The thing is though that I actually don't care which it is. This is marketed as a honey liqueur, but I consider Sheep Dog to be the best of the peanut butter whiskeys I've tried (yes, I've been sampling peanut butter whiskey, but it's all so that you don't have to) and it barely tastes like peanut butter. This is surprisingly drinkable. I was wrong if I ever said that Yukon Jack was a good substitute for Cointreau (though if you're desperate, I will stand by it as a passable one), but for a drink with just a dash of Cointreau, I'd say that this is closer than Grand Marnier. This has a richer palate than Cointreau that is also smoother and barely sweeter. There's less complexity here but the bourbon adds some interesting dimension. If you desperately need specifically that orange flavor, this won't cut it. If some general sweetness and richness with some citrus and a little bit of a kick will do, this is half the price and really surprisingly good. I can't say that this is as good as either Grand Marnier or Cointreau, but given its smoothness I actually don't think it's too far afield. I do wish that this were a hair less sweet for sure, but I'd probabaly compensate in a mixed drink by using a little less of this and a little more lemon or lime juice. This is in no way what I expected from this liqueur, but I like it better than I expected. Really a weird but good find. I'm not sure I stand by this being closer to Cointreau than Grand Marnier is, but they're in the same ballpark. Really, it's a weirdly good find.

What really surprises me here right off the bad is that my first thought upon smelling this is not "oh, this smells like a liqueur" or "oh, this smells like honey" or even "oh this smells bad" or "oh, this smells good", but "oh, this smells like Wild Turkey". That's promising though since it means the whiskey isn't hidden. On the nose I get wild turkey's re-forward mashbill with some added fresh orange sweetness like in Grand Marnier. I'm not sure I smell anything particularly like honey though. The palate is quite sweet but is under control. I do get a fair amount of the whiskey and there's this big, light overarching floral flavor that is very nice. It isn't harsh at all really. I do get that orange and I think it's a bit more like the Cointreau orange flavor with its big sweetness and otherwise light profile. It certainly isn't as robust as Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao. I'm actually quite enjoying sipping this. It tastes elegant and interesting. The high rye content of the whiskey really backs up the floral flavors. I wouldn't say it's very complex, but it's fairly nice. Nothing amazing to be sure, but surprisingly sippable with its nice balance. I particularly appreciate how restrained everything is: the sweetness isn't excessive and none of the other flavors punch you in the face either. Yukon Jack is harsher, less balanced, and less floral yet somehow also less rich. Wild Turkey American Honey is leagues better. Though this still isn't as rich as Cointreau and doesn't have as much of an orange flavor (and isn't really a reasonable substitution), the floral flavor tastes fairly good despite being light and it's smooth.