Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel Bourbon

Kentucky Spirit (in the old tail feather "fan" bottle)-Barrel #18-0007/ Warehouse K/ Rick #3 (Single Barrel, your mileage may vary) $60 NOSE: Pours into the Glencairn a light amber color. Coats the glass and forms slow moving fat legs. On first try, the nose is slightly hot and dominated by Dry Dusty Hay, Oak, and Orange Peel. I was unimpressed at first, but give it some time to develop a complex bouquet of Dried Spices. Black Pepper, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Cinnamon Stick, and Clove. It's like opening the spice cabinet in your kitchen after a few months and being hit with the scent of nearly all of the spices at one time. NEAT: Thick, Clingy and Oaky on the palate to start with. Vanilla, Caramel and some of those Dried Spices pick up mid palate. Clove, Cinnamon, and Black Pepper. A drying finish with Oak, Black Pepper, Cinnamon and Orange Peel coating. A nice warming Kentucky Hug on the way down. SPLASH: A few drops of water brings the Cinnamon note to the fore on the nose. A Burnt Brown Sugar Sweetness is added to both nose and palate. Clingy Black Licorice on the finish. VERDICT: I have really struggled with the decision whether to purchase this one or not. It is basically a Single Barrel version of their standard 101. NAS (but my guess, based on the oak influence, is 8-9 years) and a whopping $35 more than the standard 101. With all that working against it, I was surprised by how much I liked it. Is it $35 better? No, but it is a unique take on the WT profile. In fact, this is a store pick for my local ABC and I'm tempted to save up for another bottle from this barrel. On a side note..Whoever decided to change the bottle shape and labeling should be fired IMMEDIATELY! By far the biggest downgrade in packaging I've ever seen.

Warehouse F barrel 19-0307. Spicy vanilla, cinnamon, good finish with little bite. Better version of Russel's reserve 10 yr. Not sure worth the extra $20. Higher proof helps though. Drink it straight or lose flavors!!!

Spicy. Flavor fills your mouth and lingers. Sweet towards the end. Tasty. Barrel pick for Whisky School.

Picked by Elixir Spirits “No Dressing Necessary”. Officially reviewed by the ultimate Turkey fan, RareBird101. I think he gave it a 3.75. I’m giving it a 4.0 as I enjoy it quite nicely. Barrel came from Camp Nelson F on the 4th floor. It is truly a mingling of sugarcane sweetness and oak spice with a nice Carmel backdrop. There isn’t a ton of other flavors although I pick up a little sawdust, cinnamon, sweet tobacco and a little pecan pie. The mouthfeel is a little thin but somehow the finish is long and pleasant. It reminds me of a fall day when tobacco barns are burning giving that sweet scent. I normally get more vanilla spice in WT101. This barrel has a little more going on and a much more prevalent and smooth finish. There is pure maple syrup on the finish. The current Rare Breed at 116.8 will score higher from me and it’s much cheaper but when the temp is up in the dog days stretch of August I will reach for this every time!